


Pulchritudinous Wreckage

by haleyliz613



Category: Big Bang Theory
Genre: F/M, Leonard - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-16
Updated: 2013-09-08
Packaged: 2017-11-25 17:52:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 20
Words: 47,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/641446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haleyliz613/pseuds/haleyliz613
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Penny is attacked in the worst of ways, and Leonard is determined to help her get better. She was a pulchritudinous wreckage, of which he was determined to salvage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to my Big Bang Theory story! It is one of my best works, though it's still a work in progress. The only thing you need to know as the reader is that, in this Big Bang Theory universe, Leonard and Penny have never dated. Enjoy!

"No, tonight is Chinese Night and Sheldon won't have it any other way."

There was silence as Leonard listened to Penny's response over the phone. He had a look of irritability on his face that showed he really wanted to go see her at her job and have dinner. However, Sheldon made it blatantly known that Chinese Night was strictly for Chinese food. Penny may have forced the boys to veer off-course with their schedule a couple of times, but Sheldon refused to let it happen again.

"I'm sorry, Penny. If it makes you feel any better, I'll pick you up a bottle of wine and we'll have a drink when you arrive home."

Again, silence as Penny responded.

"Okay, I'll see you when you get home. Bye."

Leonard slumped back in his chair and turned to the Physicist sitting on the couch. Sheldon sat there with a smug sense of self-satisfaction plastered over his face. Howard and Raj had left to pick up the Chinese food.

"Wipe that smile off your face. Penny seemed like she really wanted us to come see her tonight," Leonard snapped at Sheldon. "She said it's been slow."

"Based on my observations of your last statement, I believe she only wants us to come dine at The Cheesecake Factory because, as it is slow, she is making fewer tips. If we come and dine, she knows we will leave her a sufficient tip, even if she, herself, is a bit 'slow'," Sheldon quipped.

Leonard gave Sheldon an exasperated look.

"Well, it's true. We always leave her precisely a 15% tip –"

"– I know what you meant, Sheldon! What my look meant was that that was not why she wants us to come –"

Leonard was cut off by Howard and Raj coming through the door, each carrying a hefty bag. He knew he wouldn't get anywhere and decided to drop the subject.

After Howard and Raj left, Leonard drove to the liquor store and picked up a bottle of Moscato for Penny. He still felt bad for not going to see her. Sheldon didn't understand why Leonard put so much effort into "a worthless cause," in which he was referring to Leonard's failing attempt to court Penny. In Sheldon's words, "The odds of a lady as attractive as Penny dating a 'nerd' as big as yourself are miniscule, almost nonexistent."

Deep in his mind, Leonard knew Sheldon was right. But that didn't change the fact that he loved Penny, and would do anything for her. Even though he didn't stand a chance of becoming her boyfriend, he at least settled for being her friend. That seemed to be the only thing he could do.

Leonard decided to do some work in his room while he waited for Penny to arrive home. Leonard was already irritated with Sheldon, so he didn't need to hear his constant harrumphs of disapproval as he watched Leonard work. He paced and wrote on his board on and off for hours, brainstorming and rearranging problems. It was almost midnight when Sheldon burst into Leonard's room with a phone in his hand, causing Leonard to fall over his board.

"Sheldon! Since when did you stop knock –"

"Penny is in the hospital! We must go at once!" Sheldon had a mixed look of pain and nausea, which Leonard took to be serious.

"What? What for?"

"No time to explain now, we must make haste! Grab your coat and meet me at the door in one minute!" With that, Sheldon turned on his heel and swiftly walked out. Leonard snatched up his jacket and ran out the door, not even bothering to shut it.

The car ride was agony. Even though it was then midnight and there was hardly any traffic, it seemed that every red light was working against them. Sheldon sat in the passenger seat, not even commenting on Leonard's speed and looking even more-so sick. Leonard couldn't take it.

"Now tell me, Sheldon. Why is Penny in the hospital?"

Sheldon looked as if he might get sick in the car if he opened his mouth. Leonard knew how he felt. Even more-so, in fact. He felt like his heart was going to jump right out of his chest. The anxiety was driving him crazy. "I don't know. All the woman on the phone told me was Penny arrived in the Emergency Room in very bad shape and the only name she gave them was yours. They tried your cell phone and when that failed, they called our home phone." Sheldon looked down at his hands and said nothing more.

"My phone was off on the charger..." was all Leonard could think to say. The idea of Penny being in the hospital terrified him, and not knowing what happened made it that much worse. When he finally turned into the parking garage, he swung into the first spot he found, jumped out the door and took off running. Sheldon's OCD prevented him from leaving the doors unlocked and open, so he locked up and set a quick pace towards the entrance of the ER. When he walked in, he saw Leonard running to the desk practically yelling at another patient to get out of his way.

"Sir," the receptionist started irritably. "What is the problem?"

"We got a call saying our friend is here! Where is she?" Leonard couldn't stop the panic in his voice.

"Okay, sir, what is your friend's name?"

"Penny... Um... Penny..."

Sheldon couldn't stop himself and decided to interject. "You don't know her last name? What kind of lovesick puppy are you, not knowing the object of your affection's last name?"

Leonard turned to Sheldon with a scathing look. "Fine. Do you know her last name?"

Sheldon opened his mouth to respond but came up short. He slowly closed his mouth and looked at the floor.

Leonard turned back to the receptionist. "She's a very pretty blond, about my height, average weight of about 120lbs..."

In the background, Leonard could hear Sheldon mutter, "Don't let Penny hear you say that..."

"Oh, yes," the receptionist said. "She's still undergoing procedure. Have a seat and I'll notify you when she is moved to a room."

"Procedure? Room? She's staying? What happened?" Leonard nearly cried.

"I'm afraid only the doctor can tell you that. Please, have a seat. It shouldn't be that much longer."

Leonard walked away from the desk dejectedly. He slumped into the nearest chair and put his head in his hands, fisting his hair. Sheldon sat down quietly next to him, obviously disturbed as well. Leonard kept running through his conversation earlier with Penny and it was making him feel worse. He felt he should have went to see her at work. He thought that maybe whatever happened wouldn't have happened had he gone. All the possibilities of what might have occurred kept pushing their way in. The worst part was not being able to do anything.

Precisely fifteen minutes later, the receptionist stood and got Leonard and Sheldon's attention. "She's been moved to room 27. You can go see her now."

With that, Leonard took off out of his chair and was down the hall before Sheldon could stand. Leonard shoved through a pair of doors and spotted the door with a 27 on it. He stopped outside of it and allowed himself to catch his breath and calm down. Being frantic wouldn't help anything. When Sheldon finally caught up, Leonard looked at him quickly before lightly knocking on the door. A short, bespectacled Indian doctor opened it. His coat read "Dr. Arjun Landabad" and he had a squished face, kind of like a Persian cat's.

"Yes?" Dr. Landabad inquired.

"The receptionist said Penny was moved to this room and we can see her," Leonard said eagerly.

"Oh, are you Dr. Leonard Hofstadter?"

"Yes... Um... What?" Leonard was confused at how the doctor knew.

"She gave your name when she arrived before she fell unconscious. Since then, she's mumbled it every now and again."

"Can I see her?"

"Yes. Her anesthesia should be wearing off soon. Please..." Dr. Landabad motioned for Leonard and Sheldon to enter the room. Leonard noted in the back of his mind that Sheldon was unusually quiet. However, it wasn't nearly as pressing as what lie ahead. He held his breath and walked through the door.

The sight that met him made his knees buckle and his heart wrench in agony. The golden-haired angel laid there in a cold, clinical bed, broken. The left side of her face was covered with a swollen, ugly bruise. A slightly blood-stained bandage rested on her right cheek, and there was a small laceration over her right eye. She was connected to an IV and heart monitor.

Leonard extended his hand out and took a slight step forward. "Oh, God..." he choked out. "Penny... What... What happened to her?"

"She was attacked. That is all we know for certain at this moment. She will have to be questioned by the authorities once she awakens." Dr. Landabad looked down at her chart and grimaced slightly. "There's... er... another thing, Dr. Hofstadter. While she was undergoing procedure to repair the damage, we found evidence suggesting she may have been... sexually assaulted."

Leonard stared blankly at the doctor, unsure of what to do or say. How does one respond to that kind of news? He was more or less in shock, and his mind was having a very difficult time processing what he was hearing. His features paled and he fumbled around blindly for a place to sit. He fell into the nearest chair, his hand covering his mouth and his eyes staring at Penny in disbelief.

Sheldon finally decided to speak up, for which Leonard was grateful. He wasn't sure if he could speak without vomiting. "What all does the damage consist of?"

Dr. Landabad looked at Sheldon with curiosity. "Are you a friend of hers as well?"

Sheldon stuck his hand out. "Dr. Sheldon Cooper. And, yes, I'm a friend of Penny's."

Dr. Landabad shook Sheldon's hand and looked at the chart once more. "Well, there's the obvious: bruising and swelling of the left side of the face. She has a laceration on her right cheek that required eight stitches. There are also three broken ribs which luckily didn't puncture her lungs, a hairline fracture of the clavicle, bruising on both hips as well as her thighs. Her right hand is broken in two places and slight vaginal tearing. We feared she may have had a concussion but the test came back negative, which is one small plus side."

Leonard looked away from the broken girl in the bed towards the doctor. "She's... Is she going to be okay?"

"Leonard..."

The voice was so small that he wasn't even sure he heard it at all, but both the doctor and Sheldon looked in Penny's direction as she opened her eyes slightly.

"Leonard... What's going on?" Her eyes were only opened a fraction. In a heartbeat, Leonard was at her side.

"Oh God, Penny, are you alright?" His eyes stung a little.

"What a ridiculous question, Leonard –"

Sheldon's retort was cut short by Leonard's piercing look, which only lasted briefly before he returned his attention to Penny.

"The police will wish to question her promptly. Will you two please excuse us so I can discuss a few matters with Miss. Penelope?" The doctor noted the reluctant look on Leonard's face. "It will only take a few minutes. Then I'll leave you with her while I notify the police that she's awake."

Leonard found it extremely difficult to leave Penny's side, but he relented when Sheldon placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned and slowly exited the room, giving Penny one last sad look before turning the corner. Sheldon steered them to a break room down the hall and sat Leonard at a table. He then busied himself with a hot chocolate machine located in the corner. Leonard just sat with his head in his hands, and could think of nothing but Penny.

A couple of minutes later, Sheldon sat at the table next to Leonard and placed a steaming cup in front of him. When Leonard didn't respond, Sheldon decided to speak. "It is said that warm beverages such as hot cocoa can help ease –"

"Yes, Sheldon, I know..." Leonard snapped lightly. When he saw the look on Sheldon's face, he turned his gaze to his cup and placed his hands around it. Though he didn't drink, the warmth radiating from the cup spread throughout his unusually cold and clammy hands. The two sat there silently for about ten minutes until the doctor appeared in the doorway.

"You can go back to her room, now. I'm going to inform the officers that she's awake."

"Wait!" Before the doctor could turn to leave, Leonard was up and in front of the him. He looked at the doctor nervously, obviously unsure of his question. "What... What's going to happen now?"

Dr. Landabad sighed and removed his glasses. "Honestly Dr. Hofstadter, we won't know that until she gives the police her story. It depends on what she remembers as to how we proceed."

Leonard mumbled a thanks before heading to Penny's room. He heard Sheldon ask the doctor something, but he wasn't terribly worried about it. He found her door and opened it, bracing himself for Penny's recount.


	2. Chapter 2

Leonard entered the room to find Penny's eyes opened more, though her left eye was so swollen it was still barely a slit. He crossed the room and pulled a chair quickly to her side.

"Leonard... I'm so sorry..." Penny's eyes locked with his. Her statement confused him.

"What? What in the world are you apologizing for, Penny?"

"For having them call you. I just... " she choked as a small sob escaped her throat. "I couldn't think of anyone else. I..."

"No, no. Don't apologize for that. You know I would do anything for you. There's nowhere else I would possibly be..." He bit his lip, trying to stop his eyes from watering.

"Thank you for coming. You're such a good friend to me..." A lone tear slipped down her uninjured cheek as she reached out and grabbed his hand.

Just then, a light knock resounded on the door and two police officers stepped in, followed by the doctor and Sheldon.

"Penny..." Dr. Landabad started. "This is Officer Mike Hodgkins and Officer Wilson Kudrow. They're here to collect information regarding your attack."

Leonard looked back at Penny and noted the prick of fear in her eyes. "It's alright, Penny. It's standard protocol for attack victims."

Officer Hodgkins stepped forward and offered his hand to Leonard. "You must be Penny's boyfriend...?"

If Leonard wasn't in the situation he was in, he might have sputtered over the question. However, he could only bring himself to solemnly reach forward and grasp the officer's outstretched hand. "Dr. Leonard Hofstadter. And no, I'm just a close friend and neighbor."

"Ah... Well, if she doesn't mind, we need to ask her a few questions." Officer Hodgkins motioned for Officer Kudrow to step forward with a notepad at the ready. He looked at Penny expectantly. "If you wouldn't mind starting at the beginning, it would be a great help."

Penny definitely didn't know how to start. She didn't want to talk about any of it. Her throat was dry and she wasn't sure if she would be able to speak. But when Leonard gave her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze, she knew she had no choice but to try.

"I had just gotten out of work – probably around ten. It was a very slow night so they cut me early. I parked about a block away, down Meridian Avenue. It took nearly five minutes to unlock my door because the lock sticks. When I got in and shut the door, I... I..." Penny choked out a sob and reached up to wipe the tears rolling down her face, only to have Leonard beat her to them. He gave her hand another squeeze and she took in a shaky breath, cringing at the pain in her ribs. "I... looked in the mirror and I saw him. There was a man in the back seat. He had black hair, a-and a scar across his jaw –"

Officer Kudrow interjected, "How old –"

" – Let her finish. We'll ask for details afterwards," Officer Hodgkins cut in. He looked to have seniority as well as a few years on the younger officer, and seemed more experienced with such matters. He addressed Penny. "Go on."

She took small breath and continued. "He... He put a knife to my neck and told me not to scream. He said, 'If you value your life, you will slowly crank the car and drive down the street. Do it, now.' S-so I did. He told me to turn into an abandoned parking garage and turn the car off. When I did, he... he grabbed me and pulled me into the backseat. I struggled a bit and managed to knee him in the jaw..." Penny winced and gripped her chest lightly. She slowed her breathing and let the pain in her ribs ease up. Talking was putting a lot of strain on her. With another calculated breath, she continued. "I tried to grab my phone, but he knocked it into the front seat. I punched him in the back of the head, but it didn't faze him and he tackled me into the seat. He pinned me down with his knee in my chest and told me he was done playing games. He got on top of me and put the knife to my cheek. I tried to hit him in the groin, so he slashed the knife across my face. When I screamed out, he punched me..." She brought her braced hand to her face to ever-so-lightly touch her swollen cheek. "I was so dazed I could only lay there while he pulled my skirt up and he... he..." Penny couldn't continue . She let a sob escape her as Leonard lightly put his arm around her. He really felt as if he would be sick. Anger bubbled in his chest, but it was drowned out by the need to comfort Penny.

The officers allowed her a few moments to compose herself. It wouldn't do anyone any good if they couldn't understand what she was saying between sobs. After a few minutes, she finally began to calm down, lightly sniffling into a tissue provided by Leonard.

"Is it alright if we continue with the questioning?" Officer Kudrow asked. Penny gave a solemn nod. "Right, now, how old would you say the man appeared to be?"

Penny bit her lip and concentrated for a moment. Her voice was still shaky. "Probably around thirty. Maybe thirty-five. He looked older but not graying."

The officer jotted down the description and returned his gaze to Penny. "Could you see the color of his eyes?"

"Yes. They were green. He... he forced me to look at him..."

"Can you give a height and weight?"

Penny thought about the question for a moment. Her eyes showed deliberation. "Maybe six and a half feet. Probably 215 pounds."

"And you said he had a scar across his jaw. Which side?"

"Left. It ran all the way from front to back."

"Okay, do you remember what street you were on?"

"N-no. After he left, I called 911. I was so confused they told me they would trace my call. I'm sure the ambulance could give you the address."

"Right..." he said, jotting down another note. "Did you see which direction he was heading?"

"No..." Penny looked disappointingly down at her hand in Leonard's grasp.

"Alright," Officer Hodgkins spoke up. "I think that's all we need for right now. The doctor informed me that you already consented and submitted to a rape kit when you first arrived. They'll be checking the samples and running the DNA through a screening for matches. For now, just get some rest. If you think you have any more information that might help us in finding the culprit, don't hesitate to call my number." With that, he handed Penny his card. "We'll let you know if we find anything."

Penny mumbled a thank you to the officers as they walked out the door and shut it behind them. Leonard looked at the doctor expectantly.

"What's our course of action now?"

Dr. Landabad adjusted his spectacles and folded his hands in front of him. "Right now, Penny needs rest. I'm going to have the nurse administer another dose of morphine in a moment. We'll need to hold her until morning to ascertain there is no internal hemorrhaging. After that, we'll release her to go home assuming she has someone that can take care of her. The pain from the broken ribs should begin to subside after the first week or so, but I'm going to send her home with some hydrocodone pills which will help. She just needs to take it easy for about three weeks. Nothing strenuous."

Just then, the doctor's pager went off. He checked it quickly and looked at Penny once more. "I have to take this. A nurse will be in shortly to administer another dose of morphine. I'll see you in the morning."

With that, he left the room. Leonard looked at Sheldon who had taken a seat next to the window. Leonard couldn't help but ask. "Sheldon, you sure have been quiet. What's the deal?"

Sheldon looked at Leonard with a bit of contempt. "The doctor said it might be better for Penny if I kept my idiosyncrasies to myself for the time being. Because I can't possibly suppress them, I decided not to say anything at all."

Raj arrived about thirty minutes later with Howard in tow to take Sheldon home. Leonard refused to leave Penny's side and was insistent that she needed a familiar person in close proximity. Penny had been asleep for about twenty minutes since the nurse had given her another dose of medication, so Leonard declined to allow Howard or Raj in the room. Sheldon and Leonard had already agreed they were the better choice of caregivers for Penny because they lived so close to her. After the other guys left, Leonard settled into an uncomfortable chair next to her bed and turned the TV on.

About four in the morning, the nurse came in to check on Penny again and determined she was in the clear. She administered another dose of morphine and left Leonard to his thoughts again. He had no intentions of sleeping, and just sat there watching the muted TV. At eight in the morning, Dr. Landabad arrived once more and checked Penny's vitals. When he gave her the all-clear, the nurse came in and gave Penny her release forms while the doctor gave Leonard care instructions. He was still kind of dazed by all the madness surrounding him.

It took five times as long to get up the stairs to their floor, with Leonard trying his hardest to support Penny as much as possible. He got her settled into bed and fetched her some water to take her pain medication with, feeling awkward with the silence. She had barely spoken a word, but he knew it probably caused her pain to speak. He sat down next to her on her bed, handing her the pill and glass of water. She took it without question and looked at Leonard.

"Thank you so much for helping me. I'm sorry I haven't said much." She gave him a weak smile.

"Don't apologize for that. You're in pain. It must hurt to talk." Leonard returned her sheepish smile.

"Yeah..." He noticed that she seemed more lucid in that moment than he had seen her since she had spoken to the police. It was a good sign, in the least.

"Just, don't worry about it. If you need me, I'll be in the living room. If you want me to, I can sleep on your couch for a couple of days in case you need something. I'll call work and take my vacation early so I can stay and help you." Leonard hoped he wasn't overstepping any boundaries with his suggestions.

"Oh, honey, you don't need to use your vacation to take care of me..."

"No, no, it's okay. I never go anywhere for my vacation time. I usually just stay home and, well, work. I don't have anywhere to go, to be honest. I've never been much on going places alone. Please. You know you'd rather have me here taking care of you instead of Howard or Sheldon. Raj wouldn't be so bad if he could actually talk to you without being trashed."

Penny thought on his words for a moment and chose her answer carefully. "I guess you're right. Thank you, Leonard. I don't know how I found such a good friend." She yawned loudly and rubbed her eyes, wincing from the slight pain.

"Go on to sleep," Leonard told her. "If you need me, I'll be in the living room."

"Thanks."

Leonard got up and made his way to the living room. He stood there thinking for a moment before deciding to go back to his apartment and get his notes. Doing some work would help occupy his mind, and he knew he didn't need to dwell too terribly much. He was beyond livid that someone could do such heinous things to a defenseless woman, especially if that woman was Penny. His mind ran over the many things he could do to exact revenge, but he knew he hadn't the slightest chance of getting his wish. Instead, he directed his efforts towards helping Penny get better. The reality was, though, that Leonard knew that the biggest challenge had yet to come. Penny's physical well-being was an issue being dealt with, but her emotional well-being had yet to come to the forefront. No matter what, though, he intended to do everything he could for her.

It was late in the evening before Penny woke up. Leonard made her some chicken noodle soup and brought it to her. She was able to clumsily feed herself with her left hand, and didn't require much help getting to her bathroom a few feet away other than getting out of bed. When she was back to sleep from another dose of medicine, Leonard worked well into the night on his notes.

About three in the morning, Leonard was awakened by the sound of Penny sobbing from her room. He stood up from the couch, scattering all the papers resting in his lap. He made his way to her room, where he found her still in bed, curled in the fetal position and crying. She was mumbling incoherently and appeared to still be asleep. Leonard made his way over and grabbed her uninjured hand and pulled it from her face.

"Penny. Penny, wake up. You're having a nightmare." He shook her gently until her eyes opened, filled with tears. She looked around confused for a moment before resting her gaze on Leonard.

"Oh, Leonard, it was horrible," she sobbed, burying her face into his chest. "He was here... I thought... Oh, God, I was scared... Please don't let him get me..."

Leonard felt his heart breaking for this beautiful damaged angel. A pulchritudinous wreckage, which he was determined to salvage. She had been through an ordeal that should never happen. Something he felt she could have been spared had he somehow done things differently. He held her and let her cry until she fell asleep once more, content with her head laying on his chest. This wasn't the first time she had. There had been many times where they had gotten drunk and she passed out on him, mainly when his mother visited. But this time, she needed the security human contact provided, and Leonard was more than willing to render. They stayed like that the rest of the night.


	3. CHapter 3

The first week was a long one. For the first couple of days, Penny mostly slept because of the pain medication. The third day, she refused her pill in the morning, claiming she was tired of, well, sleeping. She was managing well, but there still remained the difficulty of bathing. Bernadette agreed to come over every day to help her, giving Leonard a sympathetic look every time. She knew he was still in love with Penny, and knew it must have been agony for him to see her so frail and broken. Bernadette tried to get Penny to talk to her, trying to get her to vent some of her feelings. Other than her night terrors, she refused to betray any emotion regarding her ordeal. Leonard knew it was only a matter of time, and had hoped Bernadette would be successful. Unfortunately, Penny still maintained her stubbornness.

After a few days, Leonard tried to suggest he go home and stay (even though he knew he didn't want to) since she was well enough to at least function, but she was adamant about him staying in close proximity. She was slightly paranoid, but it was only to be expected. She had her stitches removed and the discoloration of bruising was fading. It still hurt her to be on her feet for too long, gravity taking its toll on her ribs. She was finally to the point where she convinced Leonard to help her across the hall so she could have Thai food with the boys. He tried to talk her out of it, insisting the others could relocate to her apartment, but she still remained stubborn. She didn't want things to change. She wanted to move on with her life and maintain the rhythm she had built, and everyone agreed to try and keep things as normal as possible. Leonard lost out on that argument and helped her to his apartment, but she didn't have the energy to participate much in their conversations. Not that she really kept up in the first place.

That night, Leonard felt he had finally imposed enough and went back to stay in his apartment, but it only lasted for a few short hours before Penny called him at one in the morning, frightened of being alone. From that point, he spent just about every other night propped up in her bed with her, calming her down after her night terrors. She always managed to convince him to stay with her, laying her head on his chest. She said his heartbeat was soothing to her, but he didn't question it either way. He was as happy as he could be given the situation, albeit still on edge. It was enough just to be near her.

It had been painful, having to wait for the police to call. It took them nearly a week to hear back from them, with which they had unsettling but somewhat good news. They had reviewed the tapes of Penny's shift at The Cheesecake Factory the night of the attack and found the man she had described sitting in the corner of the bar. He had apparently been observing her for weeks, going in there every night and watching her while she worked. It was definitely creepy, but the worst part was they couldn't get a positive ID on him. The most they had to go on was his foggy picture taken from the security tapes and the DNA samples collected in the ER. Upon Leonard's request, Raj picked Penny's car up from the police station the next day, them having found nothing in it useful to the case. All of her money and credit cards had been stolen by the culprit.

Leonard tried his best to push his feelings for her aside for the time being. At that point, he knew she wasn't interested in anything romantic, and if anything, she needed a dependable friend. He'd done well for quite a while at being a dependable friend, so it was nothing he wasn't used to. He took it as a good thing to be able to spend so much time with her and get so close to her. A number of female rape victims feared men after their encounters, but if nothing else, Penny got closer to Leonard. He was her steady rock in the storm. Always there, always caring.

About eights days after she left the hospital, Penny awoke to the smell of bacon and grits. She thought she must have still been asleep at first, considering she hadn't eaten grits since she lived in Nebraska. She had a canister full, but could never bring herself to make them. They were just never as good as her mother's recipe. She pulled herself out of bed, wincing slightly at the stiffness in her chest. Making her way into the bathroom, she performed her morning grooming to the best of her ability with a busted hand in a brace. What remained of her bruises were now reduced to greenish-yellowish stains, but the bags under her eyes didn't help. She couldn't sleep well, her dreams plagued by that cruel, scarred man. The only relief she got was when she talked Leonard into staying with her. She didn't tell him that he was her personal shield against bad dreams, not wanting to put him on the spot. She didn't want him to feel obligated to stay with her, but she much preferred it if he did.

When she walked back in her room, she saw Sheldon standing there holding a tray of bacon, grits and biscuits. At first, she wasn't sure what to say. Why was Sheldon in her room? When did he learn how to cook grits? She settled on her main question. "Where's Leonard?"

"Leonard," Sheldon started with a slight smile, "had some errands he needed to run, so he asked for me to watch you until I leave for work. He said to make you breakfast, so I threw together what you had. Not a very big selection, I hate going back to my 'roots.'"

Penny was still a little confused. It was always unusual to see Sheldon be nice, and it was even more-so unusual to see it be genuine. "So... You cooked that? All by yourself? How do you know how to make grits?"

"Oh, please, don't act like your the only one with backwoods experience. May I remind you, I spent a majority of my life in Texas with my Meemaw's amazing cooking. Even if I hated everything else in that putrid state, her cooking made it worth staying for a few extra years. Grits, of course, was served at every breakfast. My keen observation skills made mental notes for future reference." With that, Sheldon smiled once more and set her tray on her bedside table. "I hope you enjoy it. It's exactly like my Meemaw makes it." He was obviously very proud of himself.

"When will Leonard be back?" Penny didn't want to hurt Sheldon's feelings, so she sat on the edge of her bed and picked up a biscuit.

"Leonard will be back in about an hour. I have to meet Raj downstairs in five minutes, so I hope you can manage to be alone for an hour or so."

"Yes, Sheldon, I think I'm grown up enough to handle myself for an hour," Penny said, giving Sheldon a look.

Sheldon studied her for a moment before responding, "Was that sarcasm?"

"Very good, boy," Penny said in a ridiculing tone.

"Well, alright. I have to go now. I... hope you enjoy your breakfast." With that, Sheldon turned on his heel and stalked out her bedroom door and out of the apartment.

Penny sat there quietly nibbling on her biscuit, thinking about Leonard's absence. What she said to Sheldon was true. She was an adult and very able to take care of herself. However, the thought of being alone, especially without Leonard, frightened her a little. He had not left her side since the hospital. At that moment in time, she realized how truly alone she was. Her apartment all of a sudden felt too big. Too big and too quiet. The silence was deafening, and it was making her nervous. The building would settle and make creaking sounds which made her jump. She decided to take a shower so she could clear her head and stop being so paranoid.

Penny had yet to attempt to bathe herself since her attack, but that was because it would have been too painful. She stretched her body gently, testing the waters to see if she could manage. Her chest still hurt, but it wasn't so bad if she didn't use her right arm. That worked out well, since she couldn't get her hand brace wet anyways. She stared at the knobs for a minute before turning the water all the way on hot. She switched the faucet to the shower and watched the steam slowly fill the room. Leaning against the door carefully for balance, she clumsily unbuttoned her nightshirt with her left hand and pulled off her shorts. Walking over to the shower, she stuck her hand under the stream of water, testing the temperature. It was definitely hot, but not as hot as she wanted. She sighed and decided to make due. The water heaters in apartment complexes never really got very hot anyways. She carefully stepped into the shower and grimaced as the stream beat down on her chest. The water was actually much hotter than she thought, but Penny felt slightly numb to it. Every twinge of pain brought flashbacks of her attacker. She could still feel his hands on her, dirty and repulsive. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. She was only thinking those things because she was alone. However, it couldn't be helped. She still kept getting flashes of her attacker in her mind's eye.

She shook her head again roughly and reached for her loofah, determined to feel clean again. The steam was so thick, she could barely see ahead of her. He skin was already crimson from the impossibly hot water, but it still wasn't enough. She began scrubbing herself with the loofah, becoming more and more vigorous with each passing minute. She couldn't shake the feel of his hands on her, and though she continued scrubbing until she bled, it still wasn't enough. She could still see the bruises he left on her hips and thighs, and it made her feel more and more disgusted with her body. She was just about to the point of breaking when darkness suddenly engulfed her. She cried out, terrified. She stayed still for a moment, listening. Her mind was racing at a hundred miles an hour, wondering why the lights went out. Was someone there? Was it him? Did he finally come back to finish her off? She felt around in the darkness for the edge of her shower curtain. When her hand closed around it, she slowly picked up one foot, carefully trying to make it over the edge of the tub.

The imbalance of her other foot on the bottom of the wet tub gave way, and she went crashing to the tub floor. She managed to twist her body to where she landed on her right side, effectively sparing herself a concussion. However, the impact was jarring, knocking the breath out of her and causing excruciating pain in her chest. She didn't feel anything else break, but the pain was intense and caused her to cry out loudly. There was no one home around her and knew calling out for help would be a waste of energy. The burning hot water continued to beat down on her, and she could do nothing but lay there and cry, hurt, frightened and alone.

After about ten minutes of lying in the tub floor, she heard her front door open and shut. At first she was afraid it may have been that haunting man, but she heard Leonard call out, "Penny? Are you here? Why are the lights out?"

Without another second, she yelled out, "Leonard! Help!"

The sound of footsteps running through her apartment seemed in rhythm with her heartbeat, and she heard Leonard attempt to open the locked door. She heard him curse loudly and suddenly CRACK! the frame gave in as Leonard shoved his way through. "Penny?"

"In the tub!" she said desperately. Her chest felt like it was on fire.

Leonard fumbled his way through the darkness, knocking over her hamper. The water was still running, and by some sick miracle it was still scalding hot. He reached out to grab her and felt the water sting him. He let out another curse and turned the water off.

"Oh God, Penny, what the hell happened?" he asked in a panic-stricken tone as he ripped the shower curtain out of the way. In the pitch black of the bathroom, he couldn't see what he was doing. He felt around until he found her, then quickly shoved his arms under her and picked her up. Her body was extremely hot from the water, but she still began to shiver. He knew she was naked, but it was not the moment to let his mind think any further on it. She groaned in pain as he carefully navigated out of the bathroom and through the bedroom, making their way into the living room where there was light from the window. He gently laid her on the couch, feeling his cheeks grow warm from the sight of the naked beauty in front of him. He ran back to the bathroom and grabbed a towel, hurrying back to drape it over her to cover the essentials.

Kneeling down next to her, he asked, "Penny, what happened?"

She sucked in a breath quickly as a small spasm of pain shot through her. "I.. was taking a shower. The lights turned off suddenly and I tried to get out. My foot slipped and I fell. I couldn't get up. It hurt too bad." She flinched when she tried to move her arm. "I landed on my right side, but I don't think I broke anything. It just made my ribs hurt."

Leonard stood and located her pills. He grabbed a bottle of water out of her fridge and brought both over to her. She shook her head. "No. I'm not taking those anymore. I'll be fine. Just let me lay here for a bit." She looked exhausted and was sweating slightly.

"At least drink some of this water. It'll help cool you down." He looked over her still semi-nude body while she complied and noticed the angry red tint of her epidermis that bordered on blistered as well as a few places that looked like the skin had been viciously scrubbed off. He sighed and took his glasses off, rubbing his eyes. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this.

"Penny..."

She looked up at him showing he had her attention. He knelt down next to her again and replaced his glasses. "Why did you have the water on fully hot? Why does it looked like you tried to scrub yourself to death?"

She couldn't meet his gaze and instead looked at the water bottle, slowly turning it in her hands. "I guess I... I dunno... Panicked. I was already on edge about being alone, despite what I told Sheldon. I thought taking a shower would help take my mind off things. I couldn't really feel the heat of the water. I wanted so badly to get rid of him on me. I..." Her voice went higher as she tried to hold back tears. "I could still feel his hands on me. No matter how hard I scrubbed, they remained. I still feel so dirty, so filthy. No one is going to want me after this. I'm damaged goods. He's won, Leonard. He's won." With that, she broke down into tears.

Leonard quickly pulled her to him, cradling her as she sobbed into his chest. "No, no..." he said soothingly, stroking her hair. "He hasn't won. He'll never win. Don't think of yourself like that." He let her cry and spoke calmly and reassuringly to her, allowing her to let go of her pent-up emotions. She cried for a good thirty minutes, letting it all out. All of her fear, all of her anger, all of her pain, released from her personal cell. It killed Leonard to not be able to do anything else, though he knew there was nowhere else in the universe he would rather be. He felt relief that she finally let go. He knew all too well what holding back could do.

When her sobs slowed and she began hiccuping slightly, he grabbed her chin lightly and directed her gaze to his. "You're not dirty. You're not damaged. You're still just as beautiful as the day I met you, and there is no possible way no one will want you." I still want you... "What happened was terrible, and it kills me that I wasn't there to stop it. I regret every day that I didn't come see you that night. If I had, what happened might not have happened. But it did, so I'm going to try with everything in my power to help you get through this. I will always be here for you as long as you'll let me."

Penny looked into his eyes and saw sincerity she had never seen before. His stare was passionate and determined. A brief thought flitted through her mind, wondering if he was this passionate in all aspects. She gave her head a mental shake and lowered her head to his shoulder, wrapping her good arm around him in a hug. He wrapped his arms around her, not caring if she was half-naked, and returned her hug. They stayed that way for a while, nothing but silence passing between them.


	4. Chapter 4

Penny had fallen asleep on Leonard after about a half hour of embracing him. He gently laid her back down on the couch and sat on the floor in front of her. He ran his hand through his hair frustratedly, unable to focus his mind. It was intoxicating being in her embrace, but it made him feel like a complete jackass for letting his mind wander like that. He felt ashamed for thinking those things when Penny was in distress. He should have been focusing on helping her rather than romanticizing. He hung his head between his knees and placed his hands behind his head.

'Maybe I'm not the best person for this job. I can't even console her without thinking about how good she smells, or how warm her body is. I deserve to be shot.'

He turned to look at her still half-nude form. The spots where she scrubbed the skin off were not bleeding, but they still needed to be treated and bandaged. He heaved himself up and tried finding some Neosporin or peroxide, but it appeared she didn't have any. He couldn't even find rubbing alcohol, which he didn't even want to resort to because it stings so badly. Because there was no other choice, he made the trek across the hall to get a few of his own supplies. When he returned, he gently shook Penny awake.

"Hey... Um, your injuries really need to be taken care of. I didn't want to wake you, but I didn't want to try while you were asleep, because... well, um... Yeah. So..." Leonard still felt awkward talking to her, especially because the towel covering her had slipped lower to reveal her cleavage. Yes, he had seen her naked. No, he definitely didn't regret it. It just made his job a hell of a lot more difficult.

Penny yawned loudly and nodded, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Crying always made her tired, and she seemed to do a lot of that lately. She realized a little too late that her towel had completely slipped and quickly covered herself again. She blushed furiously, even though she knew he had already seen her without the towel. She noticed the deep red tint creep up on Leonard's face and almost felt bad for him. "Yeah. Um, would it make you more comfortable if I put some clothes on first?"

Leonard looked away and rubbed his neck nervously, nodding his head quickly. "It would. It would, but, uh... Well, it'll be easier for me to do my job if I have, uh, easier access to the, uh, injuries. B-but I promise, it'll be totally professional." Again, he felt like a jackass.

"Oh, okay." Penny nodded, readjusting the towel. "I trust you. You are a doctor, after all."

He huffed a little. "Yeah, um, but not that kind of doctor..." He let his sentence die out.

"So? It still means you're smarter than me, and I know you know a lot about medical stuff even if it's not what you specialize in. You know a lot about everything," she said to him reassuringly.

'If I did know so much I'd know how to talk to you without wishing I'd fall off the face of the Earth.'

Leonard mentally shook his head at that thought and nodded at Penny. "Okay. Then let's get started." He pulled his supplies out and began making quick but thorough work of the spots on her right arm first. "So... What's up with the lights?"

Penny looked around her darkened apartment and thought for a moment. "Are they not out in the whole building?"

"No... The lights in the hall and my apartment work fine. Did you forget to pay your bill again?" Leonard gave her a look of exasperation.

She thought on it for a moment. She hadn't worked in over a week, and she knew she was flat broke. Her attacker had taken all of her money. The police had been tracking her credit cards, but they weren't being used. Even still, it left her with nothing. "I guess I forgot about paying my bill. I haven't exactly had the means of doing so..."

When she said that, common sense clicked in Leonard's head and he remembered she didn't have any money. For the umpteenth time that day, he wished he could kick himself. "Oh... Right. Well, um, don't worry about it." He switched to her left arm. "I'll call the power company when I'm done and get everything straightened out." He gave her a small smile.

"No! No, you can't do that. I won't let you." Penny shook her head adamantly, wishing this hadn't happened. Leonard had helped her too much already, she refused to allow him to pay her bills for her too. "It's my responsibility. I'll take care of it."

Leonard hated when she was so stubborn. She hated receiving help, and hated even more to ask for it. "Look, I know you don't like accepting hand-outs –"

" –Even if I did let you help me, I would pay you back! It definitely would not be a hand-out!" Penny cut it.

" –But right now, you really don't have much of a choice. Besides, I have some extra money saved up that's never going to get used. Please, Penny. You're not going to get any better if you catch pneumonia because you can't run your heater." Penny's stubbornness is one of the things that attracted Leonard to her in the first place (asides from the fact that she was the epitome of beautiful), but at that moment, it made him want to beat his head against a wall. Money was not really an issue to him. No, he wasn't rich, but he made more than enough to pay his bills and live on, and the leftovers had built considerably over the years. Paying her power bill wouldn't put a dent in his savings.

Penny groaned and buried her face in the back of the couch. He heard her mumble a muffled consent and knew he had won. "Okay. It's settled. Now, um... I'm finished with your arms. I need you to, uh, lift the towel. I'll make it quick." He blushed burgundy at the thought.

"Oh... Right..." She blushed too and lowered the towel so it only covered her nether regions. A slight stirring was growing in the pit of her stomach, making her feel that telltale warmth. She tried to push those feelings out of her mind, but it became increasingly difficult when she felt his hands begin working on the spots just above her breasts. It was impossible for her to look at him as he did so.

Leonard felt as if the red stain on his cheeks would never go away. As he worked on her torso, he found himself naming off elements in his mind, trying to ward off the growing tightness in his pants. The two remained silent as he worked as quickly as possible, trying to get it over with. This day would forever be ingrained in his mind.

After about ten minutes, Penny felt as if she were going to explode. She nearly cried out the first thing that came to her mind about the situation. "I need a glass of wine –"

" –Oh, God, so do I," Leonard blurted out. He didn't even care about the circumstances, he just shot up and ran to his apartment, locating the bottle of wine he had bought for her what seemed like a lifetime ago. He went back to Penny's apartment and grabbed two glasses. After he filled both, he took a hard look at his before draining it in one go. He poured himself another and settled back next to Penny. Handing her a glass, he raised his to hers nervously and drained it again.

Penny took a few large mouthfuls before setting her glass down. Sighing in relief, she leaned back and looked out the window. It was cloudy outside, and it looked very frigid. It was possible that it could snow, which never happened often in Pasadena. She felt Leonard's hands return to working, and the knot in her belly began growing tighter. She tried to focus on the shapes the clouds made, or the birds that flew past, but as Leonard moved his hand to work on her stomach, his hand brushed her peak. It felt like an electrical shock, which made her gasp.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Leonard said quickly. "Look, um, I think the rest will be fine. I got the worst of them. Just, don't let this happen again or I won't let you shower alone. I mean, not like that! What I meant was... Um, you know what? Just don't do it. I'm gonna go... Call the power company. Or something." Leonard quickly stood up and grabbed his glass, taking it to the kitchen. He filled it once more and took a few long swigs. He was beginning to feel lightheaded, which was still not satisfying. He took the bottle to the living room and refilled Penny's glass, which she had just gratefully finished off. Taking out his phone, he dialed the number to the power company.

Penny sat on the couch as Leonard walked into the hallway to talk on the phone. The wine just wasn't doing it for her. She felt like she needed something stronger. For some reason, she could not shake the feelings she was having for Leonard. There had always been a strong pull to him, but she never understood why. And she definitely had never thought romantically about him, but now she couldn't stop thinking about him. The movements he made with his hands were so gentle and calculated, which came from years of working with very delicate equipment. She found herself wondering if he was as brilliant when it came to relations as he was with experimental Physics.

Leonard walked back into the apartment, satisfied with the power company's decision to act so promptly. He shut the door and turned to see Penny sitting with her empty glass, a faraway and heated look in her eyes. She seemed to be lost in thought. "The power will be back on in an hour," he said, snapping her out of her trance. "You might want to get some clothes on, though. The temperature is dropping and it'll be freezing in here in a minute. If you want, we can hang out in my apartment until then."

"Yeah, sounds good," she said nervously, embarrassed by her zoning out. "I might need some help, though. My chest hurts." Though at that point in time, she wasn't sure if it was from her ribs or something else.

"S-sure." Mentally, Leonard was kicking himself. He should have known when he agreed to help her get better that it was going to be hard. He already had to completely stare at her naked chest and act totally professional. Shrugging, he helped her up gently and supported most of her weight as they walked to her bedroom.

"The outfit on top of the dresser is what I had picked out," Penny said, holding her towel up to her chest. Leonard grabbed the clothes off of the dresser and held it up to her. He looked unsure if he should help, close his eyes or leave the room. "I'm gonna need you to help me. I can't lift my right arm too terribly much."

Without further ado, as she couldn't see any other way of it working, she dropped her towel to the floor. Leonard immediately looked away, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. The alcohol in his system was lowering his inhibitions, and he didn't know how much longer he could hold it together. Penny sensed his dilemma. "Leonard, it'll be much easier if you just look to help me. I've already learned from past experiences that helping while not looking leads to... awkward things." She wished she could erase the night she dislocated her shoulder from her mind.

When Leonard looked at her, she noticed the obvious arousal in his eyes. His burning look went straight to her core. Shaking slightly, she held her arm out, signaling for him to help her. He nodded and swallowed hard, taking a step forward. The tightness in his pants was growing more noticeable, and it felt like the room had been heated up several degrees. He tried his best to avoid looking at her breasts as he slipped the first arm in the sleeve, then the next. It felt like an eternity before he finally helped her get completely dressed.

An hour later, Penny and Leonard returned to Penny's apartment, the power having just come back on.

"Leonard, I'm tired of bumming off of you," she whined at him. "It was one thing to pay my power bill, but we didn't have to go to the liquor store just because you polished off the wine."

"Well, I thought it would be nice for you to get outside and get some fresh air. Besides, if we're going to start drinking, we may as well see it through," he countered, unbagging their liquor. He had decided on getting a couple more bottles of wine and a fifth of Peppermint Schnapps. He needed to forget about this day before he got in too deep. His chest was already feeling tight from longing, and the feeling kept growing stronger the more he was near her.

On that last thought, Leonard opened a bottle of wine and poured them both a glass.

Several hours and three bottles of alcohol demolished later, Leonard and Penny were reclined on the couch, red faced and giggling at the TV. They decided on a Family Guy marathon since Sheldon refused to allow such a "grotesque display of American idiocy" to grace his television set.

Leonard sat up and tried to pour himself another glass of wine, but only managed to get a few drops out of the bottle. "Aww... That... Sucks."

Penny burst into laughter, obviously drunk. Her laugh suddenly turned into a cough, which quickly made her go quiet as she groaned and clutched her chest. "Ohh... That one hurt."

Leonard stifled a snicker and fell back into the couch, looking at Penny. "A-are you okaayy?" he managed to slur out.

Penny turned her head to look at him and saw how close his face was to hers. "Um... Y-yeah..." She could feel his warm breath on her face, and it made a blush slowly creep to her face. "S-so, what do you wanna do now?" She was slurring slightly as well.

Leonard could only think of one thing he wanted to do at that moment, and his inebriated state wasn't helping at all. "Uh..."

He noticed that Penny was staring deeply into his eyes, which made him squirm slightly. She had a heated look and her lip wedged between her teeth, and it turned him on immensely. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was tousled about her head wildly. Before he knew what was happening, Penny was covering his mouth with her own. He sat there in shock for a moment, unsure of what to do. Her left hand came up and buried itself in his hair, drawing his face closer. His inhibitions well below the standard, he began moving his lips as well, running his hand up to the nape of her neck. Her lips were so soft, and she tasted of liquor. At that thought, he drew away from her, shaking his head. "No, no. Penny, you're drunk."

"Whaaat?" she cried. "No I'm not!" She looked at him fiercely before bursting into another fit of giggles. "I think."

"Okay, I think it's bedtime for Penny," he said, feeling sober enough to stand. He leaned down and helped the giggling girl up, mindful of her ribs.

"Leonard, you smell sooooo good," she slurred in his ear, making him blush. He helped her to her room and made her lay down. "Leonard, stay with meee," she pleaded, pouting her lower lip at him.

He didn't have the energy to say no to her again, so he sat on the bed next to her and leaned against the headboard. She immediately hunkered down and laid her head on his chest, content to hear his heartbeat which was racing madly. She grinned slightly and looked up to see Leonard looking straight ahead and on edge.

"Problem?" she giggled.

"No, no. It's just the, uh, alcohol. Go to sleep," Leonard said, mentally berating himself.

"Mmkay," she mumbled, closing her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Penny and Leonard lazed around Penny's apartment, recovering from their hangovers. Penny showed no signs of remembering anything after the third bottle had been opened. Leonard surmised that it was best to not make mention of the events that occurred, wanting to spare himself the heartache. He ordered in Chinese food for their lunch, his head throbbing too badly to bother cooking. They watched Kung Pow! and only contributed half-hearted giggles throughout, too hungover to really muster up the energy to talk or laugh. After the movie was over, Penny stood up and stretched gently, trying to get her mobility back. She made a face at a stitch in her side, but decided that it was better than being in agony like it had been. Despite Leonard's protests, she cleared away the remnants of their food before returning to the couch.

"So, you seem to be getting better," Leonard stated, voicing a nagging little thought at the back of his mind.

"Yeah..." she mumbled, settling back into her spot on the couch. "As long as I don't exert too much effort, I can actually function as a human being again."

"Well, when do you think you'll be able to go back to work?" Leonard asked hesitantly.

"Well, my excuse from Dr. Landabad is good for a month, but I think I'm going to try and go back Monday. I'm getting bored," she said, running her fingers through her hair.

"Yeah... I can imagine..." Leonard mumbled, knowing full well the effects of cabin fever. The only thing that kept him sane over his "vacation" was he was getting to spend time with Penny.

Penny noticed the look on his face and started, "Oh, Leonard, I know you've been bored too. Don't listen to me whine. I just meant... I really have enjoyed spending time with you, and I don't know if I could ever thank you enough for helping me through all this. But I need to get back to doing things for myself. I can't let you take care of me for the rest of my life. If I could, I would, but I can't. It's not your responsibility to take care of me. To be honest, I think it's your responsibility to take care of Sheldon. I'm surprised he hasn't blown up your apartment while you've been staying over here."

Leonard smiled a bit at this statement but said in all seriousness, "Sheldon's a big boy. He knows better than to conduct any type of dangerous experiment at home. That's why we have labs at work."

Penny giggled and readjusted herself on the couch to where she was facing Leonard. "True. But really, I need to go back to work. My appearance should be completely back to normal by then."

"Well... If you're sure you can handle it. I can go back to staying at my place and go back to work," Leonard said with an undertone of disappointment.

Penny didn't like the idea of Leonard not being close, but she knew it was for the best. Her heart seemed to ache lately, though she wasn't sure why. Yes, it was towards Leonard, but she had pushed the idea of ever being with him away when she realized she didn't stand a chance with him. A man with his intellectual level deserved to have someone who at least didn't drop out of community college. Maybe with some distance she would be able to preserve their friendship without her making things awkward. "Okay. At least you won't be far away."

At that moment, Penny's cell phone beeped with a text message. She picked it up off the coffee table and looked at it. "Oh. My agent said to call her." She hit the send button and put it to her ear, waiting for an answer.

"Hey, it's Penny. You wanted me to call?"

Silence as Penny listened to the response. She crinkled her forehead and nodded her head slightly, biting her lip. "And when is this going to be?"

Again, silence as she listened to the response. Her eyes lit up and she grinned. "Great! That sounds... Perfect! I will definitely be there." Penny hung up the phone and smiled at Leonard.

"My agent got me an audition for a new television series that's about "super humans!" It's supposed to be all-original, and the part I'm auditioning for is the lead role! It's in two weeks. She's sending me an email with the details and script."

Leonard was more than willing to smile at this. "That's amazing, Penny!" He pulled her into a hug and squeezed her gently. "You know, if it's about "super humans," me and the guys would be more than willing to help you prepare for your audition. I'm sure our input would be helpful in securing the role."

"Actually, I was thinking the same thing," Penny said with a smile. "And I know you guys have, like, a gazillion movies that could help that I can watch to take notes! Look at me, goin' all nerdy." She giggled at herself and gave Leonard another hug. Things were starting to look up.

Thursday, Penny knocked on the boys apartment, ready for some pizza and to start explaining her role. Howard opened the door with his usual sleazy smirk. "Well, well, you look spectacular this evening. You know, if I were an enzyme, I would be a DNA helicase so I could unzip your genes." He waggled his eyebrows a bit.

Penny rolled her eyes and walked past him. "You know, Leonard, if you keep feeding it it'll just keep coming back. Kinda like a stray cat."

Leonard stood up from his chair and allowed Penny to sit down. "No. We've tried deprivation. It only makes him more aggressive."

"Oh well. So, ready to hear the big role I'm auditioning for?" Leonard handed Penny a plate of pizza. "Thank you, Leonard. But you really need to let me do things for myself. I don't want to get lazy and, besides, if I'm playing a super human, that means I'm going to have to toughen up to do stunts."

"Sorry. Now, what's your character?" Leonard pulled a stool over and sat next to Penny.

"Well, my character starts out as a normal 21 year old girl named Aurora in the year 2511. At first, she lives in this little studio apartment, barely making it by working as a house cleaner. One day, she tries to commit suicide because her life seemed to be going nowhere and she wanted out. She jumps off a cliff outside the city, but when she does, a mysterious man appears beside her broken body and offers her some of his "life force," bringing her back from the brink of death and healing her. After that, she starts noticing strange things happening to her. She enlists in the Earth's military with the mystery man and they're shipped to another world to fight evil alien forces bent on ruling the universe. If you think about it, it's kind of like those Halo games you guys like to play." Penny stopped to catch her breath, unable to hide her smile. She decided to take a bite of pizza and let someone give their input.

"So, what? You're going to be a female Master Chief? That's kind of hot..." Howard said lowly.

"A female Master Chief?" Sheldon piped in. "Don't be absurd, Howard. If anything she would be like Petty Officer Second Class Kelly -087."

"Look, guys, that's not the point," Leonard interjected. "The point is, we all have the ability to help Penny practice for this role because we're all experienced in the field. However..." Leonard turned to address Penny. "Are you sure you're going to be able to perform any stunts they might ask you to at the audition?"

"I should be able to fully function in two weeks. As long as you guys help me, I should do great at the audition. Just imagine it! Having my own television series!" Penny said excitedly with stars in her eyes.

"Yeah... So is it all action?" Leonard asked hesitantly.

"No, a romance forms with the mystery man apparently. That's all I really know." She noticed the solemn look on Leonard's face and wondered if that upset him. She honestly didn't want that. "But I plan on keeping it completely professional. I promised myself before I ever moved out here that I would stay away from dating actors. Two actors in a relationship together always leads to bad endings on the cover of People magazine."

To that, everyone agreed. Leonard felt his heart perk up a bit at this statement.

Raj leaned over and whispered in Howard's ear. Howard laughed a little and nodded his head. "Yeah, I give her a week before hooking up with her co-star."

Over the next two weeks, the guys worked just about every evening helping Penny run her lines and making suggestions on how to say or do certain things. They also helped her with small stunts, though the first couple of days of stunts pained her quite a bit. Leonard talked Bernadette into accompanying Penny to the gym so she could work on getting her strength back. Leonard wanted to go with her himself, afraid of her attacker who was still at large, but his homunculus form was too embarrassing to go inside with. Bernadette was the best he could do.

Penny started working again, determined to pay back Leonard what she owed him if her audition fell through. The Cheesecake Factory started a new policy that required a male worker to accompany any female worker to their vehicle after work if it was dark outside. That made Penny feel better, but still a little nervous. Her escort would check her back seat for her before she got in, and Leonard would always wait for her at the entrance to their apartment building to make sure she was alright. Leonard was relieved that things had went somewhat back to normal, and was excited that Penny had such high hopes of getting the part.

The night before her audition, Leonard took her out for a "good luck" dinner, looking for an excuse to spend some more time alone with her. Though he was very happy that she was finally getting back to her life, he missed staying at her apartment and taking care of her. She still called him most nights, waking up from nightmares. He didn't mind. It made him feel needed, like he was her comfort zone. At dinner, they were seated and served wine. After they ordered, Penny took a sip of her wine and cleared her throat. "This was very nice of you Leonard. I think it's kind of unnecessary, though, considering I don't know if I'll get the part."

"It doesn't matter, though. I believe in you and I think the guys and I have prepared you enough. I'm sure you'll breeze through the audition." Leonard smiled and clinked his glass to hers.

"Thanks. For everything. It'll be incredible if I get the part. I won't even have to move! The studio is only a few miles away." Penny took another sip of her wine.

Leonard tried to be nonchalant about the news, but on the inside he was ecstatic. He didn't know what he would do without her within close proximity to him. Even though he was no longer staying with her, his feelings for her still grew steadily. She had gone totally nerd on them for the past couple of weeks, acting out action scenes and tossing about military slang. It made him fall for her even more, seeing her finally take interest in some things he was interested in, even if it was required by her career choice.

After their meals arrived, they tucked in and spoke occasionally, making fun of their waiter's nasally voice and off-handed remarks about their food. Leonard was into his third glass of wine, as was Penny. They had tipsy talk and poked fun at Sheldon's methods of teaching Penny military lingo. Leonard was impressed how far she had come along. She was a fast learner, and picked up easily on everything the guys suggested. As far as Leonard was concerned, she had the part down to a T. After their fifth glass of wine each, Leonard paid the check and called a cab. He had the driver take them home where he escorted Penny into her apartment. She invited him for one more glass of wine, which Leonard gratefully accepted. He was having such a good time, he didn't want it to end. They chatted about her audition tomorrow, Penny slurring a good bit.

"I'm not really worried about my audition," she said drunkenly, sloppily swirling her wine around in its glass. "I just reeeeaaallllyyyy don't wanna disappoint you guys..."

"Oh, honey..." Leonard said, a little drunk as well. "You won't disappoint me if you don't get it. I'm proud of you just for working so hard. I've... I've really enjoyed spending time with you." Leonard decided that that moment was better than any to open up to her. He wanted to wait until they found out if she got the part or not, but it could end badly either way if he waited. Either she got the part and he opened up to her, in which she thinks he only wanted her because she was going to be famous, or she didn't get the part and think he was only taking pity on her. No, that night was the night.

"I've enjoyed spending time with you too. You're my bestest friend..." she said slurringly, slumping on his shoulder and giving him a drunken hug.

"Penny..." Leonard said, rubbing his neck nervously. "There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about. Well, tell you."

Penny straightened up, but somehow her hands ended up in his, warming them and making her stomach flutter. "Okaayyy."

Leonard took a deep breath, trying to overcome his hazy mind. "Well, you and I have known each other for a few years now, and you've been an unbearably kind friend to me. Well, actually, to all of us. If it wasn't for you, we'd probably still be living the same pathetic lives we were before. Howard wouldn't be getting married, Raj wouldn't have discovered he could talk to women when he's drunk and Sheldon, well... Sheldon hasn't changed much, but he doesn't really count."

Penny was listening intently, curious as to where their conversation was going. "And what about you?"

"Well, me... Um... You see, since the day we met, I've... Uh..." Leonard was losing his nerve fast, and it was making him stumble over his words. At the rate he was going, he wouldn't make it out alive.

Penny decided to help him out. "Just go ahead and say what you need to."

Leonard took another deep breath. "Penny, since the day we met, I've admired you. Your strong will and bright attitude always made my day better. When you skull-dragged Sheldon in Halo, I thought you couldn't get any better. And now, after everything that has happened to you, you are still going strong and trying to push forward as hard as you can. Throughout the entire time I stayed with you and helped you for those few weeks, I felt a pulling in my chest become stronger and stronger. Whenever I see you or hear your voice on the phone, it feels like my heart is going to jump out of my chest. Penny, I just thought you should know this because I believe I've developed very strong feelings for you. I'm not going to say "love" or anything, because I think it takes more time than I've been given to develop feelings that strong. But it's true. I think I have feelings for you."


	6. Chapter 6

Penny sat there in stunned silence, her face slightly red from the alcohol. Leonard... confessed his feelings for her? Or, at least, what he knew of his feelings. "R-really?"

Leonard dropped his head into his hands. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. You're probably already too drunk to remember any of this, anyways."

"But-" Penny tried to say something, anything, but he continued.

"I just wanted to let you know beforehand that your big audition tomorrow, whether it ends good or bad, will not change how I feel about you. Even if I don't know what I feel for you." Leonard's heart raced with uncertainty and tried to calm himself down. He had nothing to lose over this.

Penny bit her lip in contemplative silence. She wasn't sure how to respond, but she could understand his need to tell her this now. If she got the part, his opportunities to get it over with would have been even more-so limited. She wanted to tell him that she thought she might have developed some kind of feelings for him too, but she was wary of it. Since her attack, Leonard had stayed by her side and helped her in every way he possibly could. She didn't want him to think she was saying it because she felt guilty or indebted to his kindness. Speaking as carefully as she could in her slightly drunken state, she said lowly, "Thank you for telling me this, now. I... I'm not sure what to say. I... I think I may have some sort of feelings for you, too, but I really just don't know. But I think I want to try and find out."

Leonard let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. If he had been in his sober mind, he might have panicked. But his slightly alcohol-induced state helped him accept her words with grace. She wasn't completely rejecting him. She said she might have even felt something, too, though she was unsure. Besides, it was his fault neither of them were really sober enough to tackle this kind of conversation. Leonard's face broke into a sheepish grin and he pulled her in for an awkward hug. Maybe things would start looking up.

Leonard surprised Penny the next morning by showing up at her door with a bouquet of 'Good Luck' flowers. The night before, they had agreed that Leonard would escort Penny to her audition. She was nervous but in high spirits, which helped ease some of Leonard's worries. As they drove, Penny went over her lines with input from Leonard here and there. He was relieved that she had managed to master the lines as well the stunts. The stunts had brought her a lot of pain and frustration, her still slightly injured body resisting the movements. After the first week or so, she had managed to work out her pain and soreness and began pulling off the stunts with ease.

Leonard sat nervously next to Penny in a pleasant waiting room with about twenty other girls. Most of them were busty blondes, but there were two or three that looked a little on the nerdy side, which Leonard thought was pretty cool. One by one, the girls were called in. There was about a thirty minute period in-between each person being called, and by noon, there was only Penny and two other girls left. None of the others had come back out, so Penny assumed they were either having them take a different exit or having them wait and the results would be known today. Her name was then finally called.

She jumped from her seat, looking at the little brunette holding a clipboard and glancing back at Leonard. "Um, is it okay if my friend comes? He's kind of been my... coach."

The brunette nodded and smiled. "If it'll make you less nervous, by all means, it's no problem."

Leonard was stunned that Penny wanted him to be in there to watch her audition for something that could possibly change her entire life. He figured she would be too nervous with him in there. Without a word, he stood quickly and followed, trying to not act shocked when Penny grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. He gave her a squeeze back, showing his support. \

Penny did superbly, not faltering once during her audition. The panel seemed very impressed, even though the girl only had a hemorrhoid cream commercial and a production of Anne Frank above a bowling alley on her resume. Penny did a few of the lines, using the complicated military lingo Sheldon had taught her. She then performed a few of the basic stunts flawlessly, finding that each time was easier for her. The panel chatted briefly before sending her and Leonard to a room off to the side where two other girls sat. One was a busty blonde and the other was a slightly nerdy looking short Indian girl with long, straight, perfect hair. They were instructed to wait until further notice.

"They must be doing the selection today," Penny whispered quietly to Leonard as they sat on a love seat. Leonard gave her a questioning look at which she continued. "Usually they would have just sent me on my way and made me wait for a phone call, but sometimes, when they're in a time crunch, they'll make the decision the same day as the audition."

"I thought they told you right away anyways," Leonard mumbled.

"Not usually, no," she whispered back. "They'll probably have us do one more skit or stunt before they make their final decision."

"Well, congratulations. You've obviously made it to the finals." Leonard smiled at her and gave her a hug. "You did a great job in there and I can tell that the panelists really liked you."

Penny just hugged him back, enjoying his warmth. She loved the way his arms felt around her, and she wasn't sure if she ever wanted to let go. "Let's hope they liked me enough."

The panelists finally got down to four favorites. One by one, they were called out, and Penny was the last one they had to enter. They wanted her to perform the rolling stunt she had had problems with due to her few lingering injuries. She reminded herself to focus and, not without a lot of effort, pulled off the stunt with the lines in place flawlessly. She looked over at Leonard, her face slightly pink and her breathing a bit labored. He gave her a smile and a thumbs up. She looked back expectantly at the panelists, watching them discuss her with great debate. After a few minutes of their silent words, they called in the other three girls.

"We're breaking for lunch. We will be using that time to deliberate and make our final decision. Be back in this room in one hour," said a grumpy looking man on the end.

Penny nodded to them and smiled, making her way over to Leonard.

"You did great!" he said excitedly, hugging her. She felt she might develop an addiction to his hugs. She was surprised when she returned the hug and found herself feeling... muscle? Was that right? Leonard felt more toned than he use to, though Penny wasn't sure if they had always been there and she never noticed before then or if he was recently acquiring them. Her hands lingered over his back a little longer, enjoying the feel of them, before he finally stepped back.

"So," she said as they walked to Leonard's car. "What's for lunch?"

An hour later, Penny and Leonard found themselves back at the auditioning studio, making their way to the panelist room. When they finally arrived at the big double doors, Penny stopped and stared for a moment. "Well, this is it."

"Yep. Time to see when you start your new career," Leonard teased, poking her in the stomach.

"Stop. Really, I'm nervous," said Penny as she bit her lip.

"Don't be. You did fantastic. I have no doubt in my mind that the part is yours." He smiled at her and pushed the doors open.

"I don't believe it."

"Well, you better believe it."

"Did I hear right?"

"I'm pretty positive you did."

"There's got to be a mistake."

"Doesn't matter now, does it?"

"Um..."

"Congratulations, Private Aurora."

The thrilled shriek that rang throughout Leonard's car was loud enough to cause him to swerve a little over the road. He smiled nonetheless, happy for his friend. Out of the four girls, the two busty blondes were dismissed. Even though the little Indian girl (whose name he later found to be Aastha) did not get the part of Aurora, the panelists said she would be perfect for the best friend role in the show, which she graciously accepted. When Penny was told she was the chosen one, she nearly fainted, at which Leonard had to help hold her up.

Penny chattered excitedly the whole way home, and Leonard couldn't help but think that it was what she really needed to get past her attack. There had been no more word from the police on the situation, and that made him very nervous. Penny's attacker was still on the loose and that meant he still posed a threat. Leonard had been going to the gym at the university three times a week, determined to try and be of some use to Penny. He was also taking mixed martial arts classes in the gym, obstinate to learn defensive and offensive moves. If that psychopath wanted Penny again, Leonard wasn't about to stand aside and let him. He would fight for her. He may not have posed much of a threat before, but after weeks of continuous training, his muscles, strength and stamina increased generously daily. The classes had taught him a lot and he felt a lot more empowered now that he had advanced through intermediate-level classes. He was moving up the ladder, and doing exceptionally well. Penny was clueless to his efforts, however. He worried she would laugh at him.

When the two arrived at their landing, Leonard turned and asked, "So, you gonna come in and tell the good news? I think everyone is here."

Penny smiled brightly, hugging him. "Sure! And thanks for coming. I couldn't have done any of it without you."

A month later, Penny came home exhausted one night after a day of filming. Their pilot episode was finally finished and sent off to be reviewed. If it was deemed worthy, it would still be months before it was debuted. Penny hurried to shower and dress, ready to share some exciting news with everyone. Briefly knocking on their door before walking on in, she was glad to see everyone was there for once. She had been so busy making the pilot episode that she barely had time to see any of them, including Leonard, which made her chest ache slightly for some reason. Saying her hellos to Amy and Bernadette and trying to tease Raj into saying hi, Penny walked over and sat on the arm of Leonard's chair, bouncing slightly with excitement. "So... I have some very interesting news which I think you guys will love."

"And what's that?" Leonard asked as he leaned back to look at her.

"Well, all month we've been working on our pilot episode with a temporary director. The real director had been out of the country on some kind of business or other. Apparently, he had been video chatting with the fill-in director all month, making sure everything was perfect for the pilot. During my audition, he had been watching a camera the whole time watching me. He's the one that talked the panelists into picking me. Anyways, all month they refused to tell us who the real director is. Today, he finally showed up." Penny looked excitedly at each of them, waiting for the big question.

"Well, who is he?" Amy asked.

Penny smiled brightly. "George Lucas."


	7. Chapter 7

"George Lucas? The George Lucas? Like, Star Wars George Lucas?" Sheldon exclaimed as he jumped from his seat.

Penny grinned. "The one and only."

"Penny, that's amazing!" Leonard said, a look of complete surprise on his face. "You get to work under one of our biggest idols. You do know how much of a big deal this is to us – "

"Big deal?" Sheldon cut in. "Big deal? It's more than a big deal! It means that I can finally meet George Lucas and share my ideas with him! I might can even help him with this TV series – "

"Whoa, whoa, hold your horses, dude," Penny said, standing up. "I don't want to pester the man after I just met him. He can take me off the show just as easily as he put me on."

"I don't follow," Sheldon said simply, looking confused.

Leonard decided to help. "It means that she wants to get the man to like her and know her more before she starts bringing her horde of psychotic nerds to annoy him."

Sheldon gave Leonard a blank look. "I still don't follow."

With an exasperated sigh, Penny sat back down. "And you never will, Sheldon. Just, give me some time before forcing me to introduce you."

"Well, I don't know why, but I guess I have no choice." Sheldon pouted, sitting back down in his spot.

Amy leaned over and whispered loudly to Sheldon,"Don't worry. I have the utmost confidence that Penny will understand and let you meet him. She's right, though. You're so brilliant, he might want some time to prepare beforehand."

Sheldon took this as comfort and finally moved on.

"So, Penny," Bernadette addressed the taller blonde. "What is he like?"

"Obnoxious, control freak, total nerd..." said Penny, listing off qualities.

"Is he really that bad?" Bernadette asked.

"Of course not!" Sheldon cut in. "How could a legend such as George Lucas ever be obnoxious?"

Penny looked at Sheldon. "Oh, I thought she was asking about you."

An hour later, Penny made her way back to her apartment, ready to get into some comfy clothes and have a large glass of wine. After showering and dressing, she made her way into the kitchen to retrieve her wine and settled onto the couch. She flipped through the channels for about thirty minutes before she heard a knock on her door.

Grabbing her baseball bat from under the couch, she slowly approached the door and said aloud, "Who is it?"

"It's just me," came Leonard's voice from the other side of the door.

Relieved, Penny propped the baseball bat against the wall and opened the door. Leonard was standing there with her cell phone in his hand. "You left this on the couch."

"Oh, thanks." Penny was slightly disappointed that that was the reason he came over. "Say, I'm having a glass of wine. Care to join me?"

Leonard looked at the clock on his phone, making sure he didn't look too desperate. "Sure, I've got some time. But only one."

He followed her into her apartment, shutting and locking the door behind him. Penny made her way into the kitchen and poured a glass for him, setting it in front of him on the coffee table. "I was just about to find a movie to watch. Any preferences?"

"As long as it doesn't involve crying I think I can handle anything. Though, I'd prefer something with a little action," Leonard said as he sipped from his glass and relaxed back on the couch. Penny flipped through her movies and found Underworld: Evolution, which she hadn't seen in ages.

"Here we go. Plenty of action and blood and stuff." She put it in the DVD player and sat on the couch, almost on top of Leonard. He adjusted himself out from under her and turned his attention to the movie. Her closeness did not go unnoticed by him, and the warmth of her body on his was enough to make him want to totally forget about the movie. She curled up to him and watched the movie intently, but Leonard couldn't seem to focus at all. He felt Penny's body pressed against his side, and she smelled of her green apple shampoo, which he couldn't get enough of. Stopping himself before he buried his nose in her hair, he returned his attention to the movie.

About halfway through, they watched as Selene and Michael fought to find cover before the sun rose. Things took a turn for the sexy, and Penny found herself biting her lip and casting quick glances at Leonard. His breathing was a little harsher than usual, and she was sure she saw him glance at her out of the corner of his. She glanced at him one last time and caught him staring at her.

"Leonard?"

He bent his head down and leaned into her. Without thinking, she leaned up to him as he captured her lips with his. She panicked slightly before his lips began to move against hers as one of his hands snaked behind her head to draw her in closer. She moaned quietly as her lips responded to his, and tentatively wrapped her arms around his waist, gripping his back. She was surprised to find definition and muscle ingrained, and experimented by moving one hand to grip his arm, finding a bicep she didn't know about. Pulling back breathlessly and looking at him, she gave his bicep a squeeze.

"Biceps?"

Leonard broke eye contact and looked around sheepishly. "Yeah..."

"Working out? Or are you a closet jock posing as a nerd?" She poked at his abdomen, which, surprise surprise, was firm and possibly on its way to being a six-pack.

Leonard knew she wouldn't leave it alone. "I may go to the gym every once in a while."

Penny gave him an unconvinced look. "Once in a while?"

"Or possibly three times a week."

She gave him a surprised look. "Since when?"

He looked at her worriedly, embarrassed that she might make fun of his efforts. "Since... Your attack."

Penny's eyes widened and clouded over with the fleeting memory before pushing it out of her mind. "Why?"

Leonard really didn't want to have to explain it to her. He didn't even want to have to explain it to himself. But if there was nothing else in her Nebraskan blood, it was determination. Or hard-headedness. "Because, after I saw you lying in that hospital bed, I made a vow to myself to never let anything like that happen to you again. My biggest problem with that was, even if I had been with you, I probably couldn't have stopped him. So I decided to work on getting fit and learning a few defensive moves."

"Defensive moves?"

Again, Leonard looked sheepishly around the room. "Um, yeah. Some kickboxing, a little MMA. They have all sorts of different classes for it in the gym at the university."

Penny took a long drag from her wine before asking, "Is that why you were randomly gone while I was still hurt and had Sheldon look after me?"

Leonard nodded, drinking deeply from his glass as well. As soon as he pulled his lips away from the glass, he found Penny latching herself onto him and crushing her lips against his. It startled him momentarily before quickly decided that he had no problem accepting her gratitude, especially if it came in this form. He kissed her back as he blindly set his glass on the coffee table and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against him. Her arms reached around him and gripped his newly-muscled back just as her cell phone rang.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

The speaker was a very obviously disappointed Penny, who grabbed her phone off the table and looked at the caller.

"It's Officer Hodgkins." She quickly answered it. "Hello?"

There was a moment of silence as she listened. "I'm doing much better, thank you. So, any news?"

She listened intently, at which Leonard was trying to keep himself from going crazy wanting to know what was going on.

"So, he tried to use one of my cards?" Leonard motioned at Penny to get her attention and mouthed at her to turn the phone on speaker. She pressed a button and Officer Hodgkins voice filled the room.

"Yes. The ATM picked up an exact image of him, so we were able to finally identify him. We didn't manage to apprehend him, but now we have a name and face so it's only a matter of time."

"Officer Hodgkins, this is Dr. Hofstadter. Do you have any more information on the guy? Like, motive?" Leonard's brow was drawn together in concern.

"We have reason to believe that he's a hired hit man, though we can't find any solid evidence to prove it. He has a criminal record a mile long, but his offenses were never serious enough for him to spend much time on the inside. He's gone on trial a couple of times for murder, though he always managed to worm his way out. But now that we have a solid witness and a serious enough crime, we have a better chance of putting him away for a long time, maybe even for life if we can link him to any recent murder cases."

In an unstable voice, Penny asked, "What's his name?"

"Donovan Aberstan."

"Wh... Do you have any idea who hired him? I.. I mean, if he was hired at all." Penny's voice shook as she tried to remain calm.

"Unfortunately, no. We can't know anything for sure on that front until we've apprehended Aberstan. I'm sorry I can't give you much more information right now."

Leonard spoke up to save Penny the breakdown. "Do you have any idea how long it might take to apprehend him?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line, the Officer Hodgkins spoke. "We tried his home address, but we have reason to believe he was tipped off and made a run for it. That's part of the reason I called. He's a hired hit man. If he is the one who attacked Penny – " Penny couldn't suppress the involuntary shudder that ran through her. " – then that means he didn't complete his job, because she's still alive. That means she runs a great chance of running into him. We can offer Witness Protection – "

"NO!" Penny shouted, barely managing to keep her seat. She tried to sound strong, but there was a falter in her voice that told Leonard that she was scared. "I refuse to hide like a scared little kid. He caught me off guard last time, but I've got a Louisville Slugger with his name on it – "

"Penny," Leonard started, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her to him in a hug with ease. The unusually strong force that he exerted actually made her gasp as she felt his muscling chest press against her. He didn't miss the look on her face, and he couldn't help but grin a little in a slight sense of smug satisfaction.

"Thank you, Officer Hodgkins. Call us as soon as you have more information," said Leonard.

"Of course. And please make sure she's not left alone. We're going to have officers patrolling your block every half-hour. To be sure. We're going to get him. It's only a matter of time."

The line went dead and Penny hung up her phone. She was scared to the core. Before she could get a sob out, Leonard turned her to face him. "You do know that I refuse to let anything happen to you, right? I'm not leaving you alone until they catch him."

Penny wrapped her arms around him and shook as she cried. He held her and stroked her hair, thinking about his words. He meant every one of them. He refused to let anyone hurt her again. Even if she wasn't his to protect, he'd do it because he was pretty sure he loved her. He knew it was way too soon to assume that, but he wasn't quite sure what else could explain it. Hell, he had pined for her since the day she moved in across the hall, and minutes ago, which then felt like hours, she did not reject his advances. She seemed to be happy to oblige, if he were honest with himself. The only flaw in this huge fucked up plan, though, was that he wanted to get her past behind her before he tried to go much further. And to do so, it meant that Aberstan needed to be behind bars, with whoever may have hired him.


	8. Chapter 8

A couple of weeks later, Leonard stood in the dark outside the apartment building, waiting for Penny to get out of her car so he could escort her inside. The temperature outside had dropped dramatically, and Leonard couldn't keep himself from shuffling around a little bit, trying to keep warm. Once Penny locked up, she smiled and made her way to Leonard. "You know, I don't think the guy would be stupid enough to come here."

"Not taking any chances," Leonard responded, relieving her of her duffel bag of clothes. "Dear God, I had no idea they made you wear so many different outfits."

"They don't. I just like to keep a fresh look." She smiled brightly at Leonard and walked through the door he had just opened for her. They began making their way up the winding staircase.

"So, how was work?" Leonard asked her, adjusting the strap of the duffel bag on his shoulder.

"Strenuous," she replied, giving him an exasperated look. "We've moved on to boot camp scenes and it's not easy. It's like a real boot camp."

He could tell she was tired, but he knew she was accepting the difficulties with grace. It was her dream to be an actress, and she knew what it entailed. The inconvenience of a good work out every day was minor in comparison to her actually living her dream.

"Well, Howard and Raj will be back any moment with our Chinese food. You're still coming over, right? You're not too tired, are you?" he asked her nervously, pitching a glance in her direction.

She gave him a small smile. "I think I can manage a bite to eat. Besides, I haven't seen the girls in forever."

It was true. She hated it, but she hadn't been able to spend girl time with Amy and Bernadette in weeks. Her work schedule clashed with theirs terribly, and the most she could manage was sending them texts every now and then.

When she and Leonard finally reached the landing, he held up her bag and asked her, "Would you like for me to set this inside your apartment?"

"Sure. And after dinner, there's something in that bag I need to show you, okay?" She blushed a little, unlocking her door and allowing him to set the bag inside. She closed it and locked it once more.

"Okay, but George Lucas' dead body better not be in there. You have no idea how upset Sheldon would be," he chuckled.

"Yeah, like you wouldn't be upset," she poked, waiting for him to open his apartment door.

"I might would go into mourning... For a little while... Like... Maybe a month." He grinned back at her, opening the door and letting her go in first.

"On the contrary, Leonard" came Sheldon's voice as Leonard shut the door behind him. He turned to face Sheldon sitting in his usual spot, with Amy next to him and Bernadette beside her. "If Penny were in possession of George Lucas' lifeless body, I would be much more excited than upset." Leonard gave him a puzzled look, which Sheldon accurately interpreted and explained. "Having George Lucas' lifeless body means I would have plenty of DNA to choose from to clone him like I plan on doing with Leonard Nimoy. In fact, I might be inclined to design a hybrid between the two. The possibilities could be endless! Penny!" Sheldon addressed the girl now sitting in Leonard's chair as Leonard drew up a stool. "Are you in possession of George Lucas' body?"

"What? Sheldon, no!" she exclaimed, looking at Leonard for help.

"Sheldon, you need to keep your Vulcan hearing to yourself. It was just a joke." Leonard rolled his eyes.

"Well," Amy chimed in, directing her speech to Penny. "If you did have his dead body, and you needed a good friend to have a look at his brain, I'd be more than happy – "

" – There is no dead body!" Penny reiterated. "George Lucas is happy, healthy and living. Dear Lord, I should have never opened my mouth."

"Food's here!" Howard announced as he and Raj came through the door laden with bags.

Bernadette stood and kissed Howard on the cheek before settling back into her spot. In her sweet voice, she said, "So, you missed an interesting topic about George Lucas' dead body."

"George Lucas is dead?!" Raj exclaimed.

"Oh my God, Raj! You spoke in front of us without being three sheets to the wind!" Penny laughed, but was still surprised.

"Oh, he may have had a cup or two of sake while we waited on our food," Howard explained as he unloaded the bags onto the table.

"It wasn't my fault," said Raj, pulling up a computer chair. "That Geisha lady seemed so nice, it would have been rude to tell her no."

"Raj, that wasn't a Geisha. That was an old Mexican lady wearing a bathrobe."

"Didn't mean she wasn't nice," Raj mumbled dejectedly.

"So, Penny," Amy decided to change the subject. "How was work?"

"Eh," Penny replied, piling food onto her plate. "Like I told Leonard, we've been doing boot camp scenes so I'm pretty tired."

"I bet you've been having a lot of fun, though," Bernadette added, sipping her glass of wine.

"Yeah," Amy said as she settled back with her plate. "I bet with all those boot camp scenes you get to see a lot of really hot guys."

"Ugh," Penny groaned, rolling her eyes. "Please. I've already said that actors are off limits. They're too melodramatic. They all act like they're hot shit in a champagne glass, but in all reality, they're nothing more than cold diarrhea in a Dixie cup."

"What about the guy who's going to play the lead male role? Who is he?" Howard asked in a sleazy tone.

"I told you, already. Neil Patrick Harris. And you should know he's no kind of option," Penny added hurriedly, glancing at Leonard. "He's notoriously gay, despite his womanizing roles on TV. He's even got a husband and kids."

Before Sheldon could ask, Leonard cut him off. "Adoption."

Penny nodded her head as she shoved an egg roll into her mouth.

"So," said Raj. "George Lucas is dead?"

A few hours later, Penny and Leonard made their way to Penny's apartment. "So what did you want to show me?" Leonard asked, pouring a glass of wine for the both of them.

Penny grabbed her duffel bag and dumped the contents in the middle of the living room floor. Leonard winced slightly at her messy display, but it didn't bother him near as much as it used to. For the weeks he was in her apartment every day while she was recovering, he had taken to deep cleaning it, simply out of boredom. Ever since, she seemed to make a little more conscious effort in keeping her apartment at least short of a pig sty.

"This!" she said happily, holding up an outfit. It was a standard military uniform, which he failed to understand the excitement over.

"Hang on, I'll model it for you!" she said excitedly, running into her bedroom and shutting the door. Leonard set both of their glasses on the coffee table and turned the TV on. A few minutes later, Penny reemerged, fully uniformed.

Leonard was honestly speechless. The uniform was obviously custom made, because it hugged her figure to where he would see every curve of her body. He had always been attracted to a woman in uniform, and seeing Penny in one was almost painful.

"Well?" she asked, waiting for a response.

Leonard nearly choked trying to speak. "Um... You... Wow... They want you to... wear that? On TV?"

Penny gave him a perplexed look. "Um, yeah. That's what actors do. We wear clothes on TV."

"But... Er..." Leonard wasn't sure how to continue. He couldn't tell her that she was going to drive every man that watched the show insane with lust. She was the epitome of sexy in that uniform, and his jeans grew uncomfortably tight just looking at her.

"Do you like it?" she asked, turning and giving him a good view of her backside. He started reciting elements in his head to stave off his urges.

When she turned to look at him expectantly, his mouth felt so dry that he could only nod and try clearing his throat.

"What's the matter, Leonard? Cat got your tongue?" she giggled at him, leaning over the couch and poking him in the stomach. She had forgotten that he had been working out, and was caught off guard by the firmness of his abdomen. She jerked her hand away and stepped back nervously. She didn't miss the heated look in Leonard's eyes, which made her stomach do a flip-flop. "Um... I'm gonna go... change."

"Yeah," he replied in a squeaky voice. Clearing his throat once more, he said," That might be a good idea. You don't want to... Uh, ruin your uniform."

Leonard took the time she was gone to calm himself down by flipping through the channels. He was embarrassed that he was acting like a thirteen year old boy when he had already seen her naked. Focusing on finding something to watch, he settled for Tosh.0, which was gross enough to keep his mind off of anything sexual.

When Penny reemerged in her sweats, she settled next to Leonard and grabbed her glass of wine, holding it out to Leonard in a toast. He picked up his glass and clinked them together, careful to avoid eye contact. Both taking a generous drink from their glasses, they settled back onto the couch.

"So, how is your job going?" she asked, taking an extra sip.

"Oh, it's going good," he said enthusiastically. Work was a very safe topic. "We're kind of at a standstill at the moment until the next grant comes through, so mainly I just placed with the laser."

"You're not melting action figures again, are you?" she asked.

"No. I've moved on to pictures of people's faces that I don't like. It passes time." He gave a halfhearted laugh. "The grant should come through next week, so it's not so bad."

"Well, that's good. So, guess what," she said excitedly, turning to him.

"What?"

"Well, Mr. Lucas announced today that our pilot was reviewed, and they loved it!" she squealed excitedly. "That means that our pilot will be airing next month!"

"Oh my God, Penny. That's amazing! You're going to be a real TV star!" Leonard hugged her tightly, which she did not reject. She loved the feel of his new muscles, and she could tell the definite improvement of his strength. Pulling back, he asked, "But why didn't you say so back in my apartment?"

"Because..." she said, smiling. "I wanted you to be the first to know."

"Why? I wasn't the only one who helped you train for the part..."

"Yeah, but I don't think I would have been well enough to audition for it if it weren't for you. If you hadn't been there to help me after the attack... Well, I wouldn't have been able to do it. I'm sure of it." She tried not to let her voice shake too badly talking on the subject.

Leonard didn't know what to say to that, so he emptied his glass and set it on the coffee table. "Um... How are you... Are you... Doing okay? By the way? I know I haven't really asked how you feel about everything going on, but I kind of figured. I just want to make sure it's nothing you can't handle."

Penny contemplated what he was asking. She hadn't really thought about it much. If fact, she had been trying not to think about it, but when she did, she didn't feel near as bad as she used to. Leonard had helped her so much, and proved to her that she wasn't broken. She may still be damaged, but it was really only a few dents and dings. "I'm doing much better. I'll be a lot more relaxed once Donovan and his possible employer are behind bars. I feel pretty safe here at home, especially when you're here. But it may be the electrified net Howard set up." She ended her sentence with a little distaste. Howard and Sheldon had insisted it was her best security bet, and when she tried to argue them down and look to Leonard for help, he kept his mouth shut, but only because he kind of liked the idea, too. "And at work there's always a security guard standing right next to the door, which is where my parking spot happens to be – right next to George Lucas." She waggled her eyebrows, obviously rubbing it in his face.

"Ha ha, okay. I get it. You can quit rubbing in this George Lucas thing. I'm already jealous, what more do you want?" he grumbled.

Penny laughed and hugged him. "But seriously, I have felt better these past couple of weeks than I have since all of this mess started. And I have you to thank for that." With no other pretense, she downed the rest of her glass and grabbed the front of Leonard's collar, drawing him to her and kissing him.


	9. Chapter 9

Leonard was locking his apartment door when Penny came out of her apartment wearing her pajamas and carrying her hefty duffel bag. "Oh, hey, Penny."

Penny groaned, obviously still half-asleep. " 'Morning."

"Um, are you going to work like that?" he asked hesitantly, eying her straight-out-of-bed look.

She gave him a grumpy, unamused look. "Yeah. Problem?"

"Well, it's just that... Um..." He wasn't sure what to say.

"It doesn't matter," she grumbled. "I have all kinds of makeup and costume people to help me look pretty, I'm just making them really earn their paycheck."

He halfheartedly laughed as she locked her door and they began their descent to the first floor. Penny grumbled about early mornings all the way to the second floor when she looked up. "Leonard?"

"Yeah?"

"Where is Sheldon?"

He couldn't suppress the oncoming grin and shook his head. "Hopefully several miles away."

"What?" she asked, moving the duffel bag to her other shoulder. They made their way to the front door of the building, Leonard moving ahead and holding it open for her.

"Ah, nevermind. Amy picked him up earlier." Leonard took Penny's bag from her and let her unlock the back hatch of her vehicle so he could stuff it in there. "Something about a 'nightmarish encounter of the matriarch kind'. I think they're meeting with Amy's mother today."

Penny giggled tiredly and wrenched open her door, pulling a little harder on the handle than necessary. Leonard watched as she got in, thinking for a moment.

"Hey, um... Does your new job pay well?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, it pays great. Why?" She checked her reflection distractedly in the rear view mirror and grimaced.

"Well, um... Why don't you get your car replaced? Or fixed?" He hoped he wasn't overstepping any boundaries by asking.

Penny looked at Leonard, her hand paused on the door handle. A slight blush crept to her cheeks, and she gave a sheepish look. "Oh... Well, I really haven't had time. Between my work and everyone else' work, I can never find a day..." She let the end of her sentence die out in a mumble.

"What was that?" Leonard asked, leaning closer to her.

"Nevermind."

"No, what were you saying?"

"Ugh, fine!" she growled. "I don't want to go alone cause I know nothing about cars and I don't want to ask any of you to take off work to go with me." She flumped her forehead down on the top of steering wheel. The column's lever gave way, and the adjustable steering wheel dropped to the lowest setting. She groaned again, barely even caring.

"Aw, sweetie. You should have just asked." Leonard made a poor attempt at masking his grin at her pitiful display. "I'll go with you. I don't know very much about cars, but I can do some research and give you a few options to choose from. I'm off work tomorrow if it's a good day for you."

Penny groaned again, picking her head up. "Leonard, I am not awake enough for this conversation. Can we please discuss this tonight when I get home?"

Leonard tried not to look too put-out."Okay. Have a good day at work."

The filming had been cut much shorter than Penny had anticipated, and by the time she left the studio, it was just then getting dark out. The temperature was dropping fast with the fading light, and she wanted to hurry home to a hot bath. Not quite warm enough inside the shelter of her vehicle, Penny turned on her heater, blasting it on full. She hummed tunelessly to herself for a couple of miles, wishing her radio worked, when her car started making a funny noise. Before she could think twice about it, it sputtered and died. She cried out, "Oh, come on!" as it rolled to a stop with her steering it to the emergency lane.

"Son of a bitch!" she yelled, slamming her hands on the steering wheel. The column gave way once again and slid down to the lowest level. Pissed off, she repeatedly punched the middle of the wheel, causing it to honk repeatedly. After a few moments of bruising her knuckles, she finally calmed down enough to pull her phone out.

'This is fantastic. Simply fantastic. Leonard completely jinxed me this morning and now here I am. Do I call him or a wrecker first?'

Just as she pressed dial on her phone, she felt the hairs on her neck stand up right before she heard movement outside of her vehicle. Before she could hit the lock button next to her hand, her back door opened and shut in one smooth motion. She sat frozen in her spot, completely terrified.

The cold metal of a knife was gently placed against the sensitive skin of her neck, and a gruff voice spoke, "Drive."

Before Penny could stop herself, she laughed nervously, almost hysterically, and blurted, "What the hell do you think I'm doing on the side of the road?"

The man in her backseat apparently didn't like her answer and nicked her neck with the knife as he drew back quickly. She expected to feel a blow to the back of her head within the next split second, but shrieked as she heard a crunching of metal and felt her whole vehicle lurch violently as she was thrown into the passenger seat, quickly rolling into the floorboard. She heard him cry out as well and tumble somewhere in the back seat. Looking under her driver seat, she snatched a crow bar she had stashed there and quickly clutched it to her chest. She expected him to come right back after her, but instead she heard the sound of her back hatch opening and scuffled feet running away.

She heard a voice yelling something before the front passenger door was thrown open.

"Penny!"

Penny, still lying in the floorboard, immediately raised the crowbar, ready to strike. She looked up and saw Leonard, chalk white with a little of what looked like blood trickling from a gash in his forehead, down the side of his face.

"L–Leonard!"

"Penny, are you alright?" he asked in a panicked tone, gently taking the crowbar from her and helping her up and out of the car. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know what else to do–"

"What... What the hell just happened?" she asked in a tone of disbelief. She felt something warm and wet slide down her neck. She touched her hand to it and drew it away to find blood coating her fingertips.

"Oh God, you're hurt. You're bleeding. Um, hang on, let me see..." Leonard stumbled over his words, pulling his phone out and calling for an ambulance. After his phone call to 911, he called Officer Hodgkins, who said he was on his way. During that space of time, Penny sat in her passenger seat, shaking slightly but trying to be as patient as possible about answers. She looked around her car, trying to piece everything together. She was shocked to see the front end of Leonard's Volvo smashed into her driver's side back door, which explained the violent lurch that tossed her around. Her phone was lying on the dash underneath her cracked windshield. She jumped at every sound that wasn't Leonard talking, and she scanned the area carefully for her attacker.

As soon as Leonard hung up his phone, he was immediately back to Penny's side, brushing her hair away from her neck to check her injury, mumbling apologies the whole time. It wasn't bleeding too bad, and it was obvious that it could have been much, much worse.

"Leonard," she said in a shaky voice. "What... Happened?"

"I'm not completely sure," he said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I was on my way to surprise you at the studio. I figured you wouldn't be off until I got there. Then I suddenly get a phone call from you–"

"Hey! Are you two okay?" Leonard was cut off by a man who had obviously stopped because of the wrecked vehicles. Penny's patience was wearing thin.

"Shut up for two seconds so I can get an explanation!" she snarled at the man. He immediately backed up, keeping his distance for the moment. Turning back to Leonard, Penny growled, "Continue."

"Um... I got a phone call from you. Right when I answered it I heard some guy in the background say 'drive.' When I heard you yell back at him, I saw your Volkswagen on the side of the road as I was about to pass by. I saw the guy in the back seat and I just... reacted. I didn't mean to plow your car. I'm so sorry, Penny! I could have killed you!" Leonard was almost to the point of panicking, gripping his hair in frustration.

"Where did... he go?" she asked, not bothering to explain who she meant.

"He ran off, into the woods. He disappeared before I could get out of my car," he said, running his hands through his already wild hair. "I wanted to go after him, but I'm not armed and, well... I needed to make sure you were okay. Do you hurt anywhere else?"

"Leonard, quit fussing over me. Besides, you're bleeding out of your forehead. Now let me see –"

"I'll be fine, it's just a cut."

"Leonard –"

"Penny –"

"Um, excuse me," came the voice of the man who stopped to help. "Do you guys need any help?"

Leonard looked over at the guy, who was halfway in and out of his vehicle. Leonard just decided to wave him off, considering there was already help en route."Everyone is okay! Just an accident. We've got people on the way."

Penny heard the man say something back, but there was still a slight ringing in her ears from being tossed around her car. Not even a minute more passed when an ambulance and two vehicles pulled up, one a police cruiser, the other an undercover car.

Immediately the doors of the undercover car and ambulance were swung open and Penny was swept away to the back of the ambulance. She watched as Officer Hodgkins approached a nervous looking Leonard and shook hands with him. They immediately began to talk, but Penny couldn't make out their words over the paramedics.

"Miss, can you tell me where it hurts?"

"Is this the only laceration you know of?"

"Is your neck sore?"

"Do you feel any pain or swelling?"

"Oh, my God, that's enough!" she cried, hopping off the back of the ambulance. "Here, you need to look at my friend. He hit his head... Or something. Either way, I feel fine. Check on him."

The paramedics looked at one another before signaling Officer Hodgkins. Hodgkins nodded and escorted Leonard to the ambulance where Penny stood rather defiantly. One paramedic began working on patching up Penny's neck as the other started poking and prodding Leonard's bloody forehead.

"Penny," Officer Hodgkins acknowledged her, shaking her hand. "Dr. Hofstadter has given me his side of what happened. Can you fill in the few holes?"

Penny glanced at Leonard, who was failing to wave away the paramedic. "Um... I had just left the studio where I work. My car is a complete junker and it died. I got it pulled over and punched my steering wheel a few times. Right after, I started to call Leonard, but the guy jumped in my backseat and held a knife to me. When he told me to drive I... Well, I laughed, because my car had just died. I guess he didn't like me laughing at him, cause I think he was about to hit me across the back of the head. And then I guess that's when Leonard crashed into my car."

Hodgkins looked at Leonard, "And you said the guy matched Donovan's description?"

"Yeah," Leonard nodded, swatting away the paramedic as he finished bandaging his forehead. "From what I could tell, anyways. I hit my head on the steering wheel on impact, but I'm pretty sure it was him."

"Alright, I'm about to call in a search team to scour the woods. We can only hope he couldn't get too far." He walked back to his car and grabbed the handset, calling for the search squads.

"Leonard?"

"Yeah?"

Penny faced him, finally free of the paramedics. "If that was him... Donovan... Then how did he know to be here? How did my car die right where he was? There's... There's no other vehicle around."

Leonard's face paled again. "Hang on."

Leonard walked back around to the two wrecked vehicles, Penny following close on his heels. The first thing he noticed was the back fender of the passenger side. A strange looking clawed device was embedded in it.

"What is that?" Penny gasped, reaching out to grab it.

Leonard cut her off quickly, grabbing her hands before she touched it. "It's an EMP neutralizer. Don't touch it. It could still have charge."

"An EMP what?"

"An EMP neutralizer," he reiterated, examining it closely without touching it. "When it attaches to a target, it shorts out every electrical component."

Penny gasped again. Officer Hodgkins made his reappearance around the vehicle. "We have several teams on their way. Now, what are we looking at?"

Leonard motioned to the neutralizer. Apparently Hodgkins was no stranger to the device, and said with little surprise in his voice, "An EMP blast. He was waiting on you."

"But how did he know?" Penny asked, close to tears. What kind of psychopath was this man?

Leonard dropped to the ground and searched underneath the car, obviously looking for something specific. Angrily, she heard him let out, "Son of a bitch!"

"What is it?" Hodgkins was down on the ground as well, looking at her undercarriage. "Goddammit."

"What?" Penny nearly cried out. "What is it?"

Officer Hodgkins reached under her car and detached something, holding out the tiny device for her to see. "It's a LoJack. The son of a bitch was using GPS to track you. He knew where you'd be."

"Fuck."


	10. Chapter 10

After several reports with the police department and insurance companies, Leonard finally managed to get Officer Hodgkins to take them home. The older gentleman tried to talk Penny once again about the Witness Protection Program, but she shot him down just as quickly as the first time. She was about to become a huge TV star, and the advertisements for the show had already been released. It hadn't cause too many problems with the paparazzi, yet, but it was only a matter of time. WPP was useless because of Penny's career choice.

As Penny thought about it, though, she knew she didn't want to go into hiding. She finally had her dream job (only second to being a movie star), but if she wanted to be honest with herself, she knew her biggest reason was she couldn't leave her Pasadena life. She loved her crazy group of nerds, and she was getting really close to Leonard, lately. They hadn't talked about the kiss they shared that night a few days before. When she tried to up the kiss a bit, he backed out and said he needed to go. She was highly disappointed, and it almost made her want to cry. When she began thinking about why he left, though, she thought she may have come on too strong. Leonard was no virgin, and she knew that. But she also knew that he was still inexperienced when it came to the full effect. She knew he was different, but it was in a good way. She was still confused about her feelings, but it was starting to become painfully obvious that he was more to her than just a friend. He had risked his life to save her, and she noticed that she wasn't freaking out near as badly as she should have. Oddly enough, he made her feel safe, and instead of fear, she felt angry. She was angry that Donovan had gotten the jump on her. She was angry that Leonard had gotten hurt trying to save her. She was angry that the psycho had gotten away. She was angry that she hadn't gotten the chance to bash him with her crowbar.

None of it mattered, though.

Leonard took her straight to her apartment, getting them both inside and locking the door behind him.

The two stood there awkwardly for a moment before Leonard spoke. "Maybe you should go get a hot shower. I can't imagine that your floorboard is all-too clean."

He raised an eyebrow at her, and she couldn't help herself as she cracked a smile at his joke. She decided her retaliation could be just as fun. Leaning close to him (at which he almost fell backwards into the door) and giving him her most seductive look, she said in a lowered voice, "Hmm, yes. I am a rather dirty girl."

Leonard had a sudden coughing fit and looked at her incredulously, obviously at a loss for words. She smiled and slipped away to her bedroom before he gathered his composure.

Thirty minutes later, she came out to her living room to find Leonard on her couch with two glasses of wine on the coffee table.

"It's like you could read my mind," she said aloud, alerting him to her presence in the room. She quickly jumped over the back of her couch and landed next to Leonard.

He grinned and handed her a glass, grabbing his own and toasting it to hers. "Unfortunately, I have yet to acquire mind-reading abilities. That's a level 95 scientist perk, I'm only a level 87." Chuckling at his little joke, he sipped from his glass and relaxed back into the couch.

"Oh?" she inquired teasingly, settling back with him and taking a sip of her own. "And what does level 100 do?"

"Have you met Sheldon?"

She laughed and sipped again. "Then I think you need to stop leveling up. It's bad enough with one Sheldon to terrorize the villages."

He laughed and agreed. "Yeah, I'd hate to run into another being like him. I can't believe I put up with him on a daily basis."

"Me either."

They sat in silence, enjoying the warmth in Penny's apartment as cold wind began whistling outside. It was an unusually cold winter for Pasadena, and it only seemed to get worse.

"Penny?"

Penny snapped herself from her thoughts about the weather to see Leonard looking at her. "Yeah?"

He leaned up and set his empty glass on the table before clasping his hands together. She noticed they were shaking slightly, but assumed it had something to do with their impromptu collision or the cold weather. "Are you okay?"

She immediately waved his question off. "Leonard, I've told you a million times, I'm fine. You didn't hurt me at all. The only reason I'm injured is because I apparently have a problem with word vomit in ridiculous situations." She polished off the rest of her glass and set it on the table as well, facing Leonard.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Word vomit?"

She thought back to what she said to Donovan. Suppressing a dry grimace, she said, "Yeah. Word vomit. When he told me to drive, I was already so annoyed with my car being dead and he was adding insult to injury. I kind of blurted out, 'What do you think I'm doing on the side of the road?' He wasn't too happy with that I guess and he cut me when he pulled the knife away, I'm assuming to hit me in the back of the head."

"So," he said, wringing his hands almost nervously. "You're okay?"

She rolled her eyes and pulled him to hug her. "Yes, sweetie. I'm perfectly fine." She felt Leonard's arms wrap around her shoulders, and she could smell his sandalwood cologne and they embraced.

"And you're not going have nightmares because you refuse to talk about your feelings?" she heard him ask.

She chose to laugh at that one and hug him tighter before releasing him. "I think I'll be okay. I wear big girl panties now." She patted him on the head before standing and taking their glasses to the kitchen to refill them.

"Come on, Penny," he said with a serious tone in his voice as she sat back down, handing him his glass. "I... I think I should stay here tonight. On the couch. In case you need me."

Penny certainly wasn't opposed to that idea. "It would make me feel better."

"O.. Okay?" he asked, slightly surprised. She nodded. "Okay. Um, yeah, so if you don't mind, you should come with me to my apartment so I can grab a few things and we'll come back here and watch a movie or something."

Penny was feeling a buzz starting and told herself to slow down on the wine. She really didn't feel like being drunk, so she set her glass down and followed Leonard to his apartment. It was only ten o'clock, so she shouldn't have been surprised to see the whole gang in the living room as they entered.

"Leonard," Sheldon started in immediately as Leonard made his way to his desk. "You didn't tell me you would be late this evening."

Leonard opened a drawer and pulled a couple of files out, flipping through them before shutting the drawer. "So? I didn't think I had to. You were with Amy, weren't you?"

Amy chimed in happily, "Yes, he was. I took him to get his hair cut and then we met my mother for lunch. And then I took him to the train store to cheer him up after my mother called him a heathen."

Penny could tell Leonard wasn't really in the right mood to deal with the gang's usual ritual (neither was she, really), but Amy's comment caused both her and Leonard to chuckle.

"She called you a heathen?" Leonard asked. "What did you do to the woman? Dump chicken Marsala in her lap?"

Sheldon gave Leonard a glare. "The crazy wench– " He stopped and corrected himself quickly at Amy's glare. "The woman had the audacity to compare what I do to how magnets work. When I tried to explain how wrong she was, she said I was a complete moron and a heathen." Sheldon grumbled some more, but Penny understood that it was probably his version of obscenities.

Amy, however, just bounced in her seat elatedly. "Yes. I think my mother really likes him." Leonard disappeared down the hall as the others continued their conversation.

"Sure," Howard said. "Just like how I knew my mother liked Bernie when they reached the same decibel and shattered a window."

"I told you," Bernadette said, flicking Howard on the nose. "That wasn't our pitch, it was the bottle of fingernail polish I threw at your head."

"Penny," Amy cut in, her eyes drawn to the fresh bandage on Penny's neck. Leonard walked back in the room to hear her ask, "What happened? Why are you hurt?" Any glanced at Leonard and saw the bandage at his hairline. "Why are you both hurt at the same time?"

Penny sighed. She had forgotten about the injuries, honestly, and she supposed Leonard had too. She huffed and settled herself on the arm of Leonard's chair. "Leonard, could you please explain?"

Leonard had the distinct look of not wanting to, but he started anyways. He explained how she became stranded on the road and called for him just as she was attacked. Sheldon tried to cut in a few times, but every time Amy put her hand over his mouth, he became more conscious of the germs and kept his comments to himself. Leonard explained crashing his car and the EMP blast (which just about caused Sheldon to bite his own tongue off), and that he wasn't going to leave Penny alone until they caught the immediate threat.

Penny was tired after reliving the incident for the umpteenth time, so Leonard made their excuses and escorted Penny back to her apartment. After locking the door, they both flumped onto the couch, Penny picking up the remote and turning on the TV. They opted for another Family Guy marathon and sipped on their leftover glasses of wine.

"Leonard?" Penny asked suddenly.

"Yeah?"

She turned to face him, tucking her legs behind her and leaning into him. "You're okay, right? You seem... Off." It was the only word she could think to use.

"Off?" he asked, implying that she should elaborate.

"Well, yeah. Off. Are you really that worried?" she asked, biting her lip and looking at him nervously.

Leonard sighed and lowered his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, I guess I am."

Penny frowned at his sullen display. She couldn't help herself as she snaked her arms around his waist and pulled him to her for a hug. She curled up against him and tucked her head down as he put his arms around her, holding her close. They stayed like that for several minutes in silence and contemplation before she felt Leonard move. She tilted her head to look at him, and suddenly felt his lips on hers.

She gasped slightly, caught off-guard. He was gentle, but she could feel the desperation rolling off of him. She found that she couldn't resist, and she didn't want to, so she pressed herself further into the kiss. His soft lips danced on her own as she relished the slow and languid feeling. She felt his tongue graze her lower lip and nibble at it before sucking on it gently. She couldn't stop the moan that escaped her and pulled herself flush against Leonard's hardened chest. Leonard's lips decided to explore and moved away from her lips, kissing her jawline and making his way down the sensitive flesh of her neck. She ran one of her hands through his hair and explored the contours of his chest with the other as he continued his ministrations to the hollow of her throat.

Penny was feeling that familiar fluttering in her stomach, and she wanted to feel his lips on hers again. She tugged on his hair softly, bringing his face up to meet hers as their lips locked again. They apparently both had the same idea, and slowly Penny was laid on her back, Leonard moving one hand to settle on her stomach and the other moving into her hair to cradle her head. She felt Leonard's tongue seek entry, so she opened and allowed him to explore her mouth, her tongue dancing with his own. She moaned loudly at this, which prompted Leonard to sit up quickly.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. Um," he blurted out quickly, his face red and his glasses askew. "I... I'm sorry Penny."

"Oh my God!" Penny nearly shouted, immediately missing the feel of him against her. "Why do you keep doing that?"

Leonard paused in his rambled apologies with a confused look. "What?"

Penny huffed and rolled her eyes, sitting up. She repeated herself. "Why in the everliving hell do you keep pulling away from me?! Look, bud, you either want me, or you don't, so make up your damn mind because you are driving me insane with... with... Whatever this is!"

Leonard looked at her with a startled look on his face. "I... It's not like that, Penny."

"Then please enlighten me, oh brilliant scientist, because these mixed signals are going to make me pull my hair out!" Penny flushed, slightly embarrassed and a little more than tipsy.

"It's not you. Okay, well, it is you, but... Ugh, what I mean is..." Leonard shut himself up for a minute thinking hard. He looked down at Penny's hands and gently took them in his own. Looking back up at her, he tried again. She was taken aback by the longing and worry in his eyes. "I want you. Of course I want you. I don't think there's a man on this planet who wouldn'twant you. You could have any guy you want, yet, here you are, with me. The nerd next door who tried to mow you down and yet, you're still here."

"I figured, 'what the hell?' What did I have to lose to try? So I started trying. And then you were attacked that first time. I was so worried you would push me away, push any man away, that I almost cried when I heard you say my name in that hospital bed. Since then, I wanted to focus on you getting better, and putting away the one or two guys responsible for hurting you. I can't... put into words how much I care about you, and I didn't think it would be fair to you or me to try and pursue anything when you are still vulnerable. It's been increasingly difficult, because I find myself wanting you more and more every day. I almost lost control a few minutes ago, and I had already told myself to wait until those madmen were behind bars before I tried to go any further with you. I don't want to push you, and I don't want you to feel like you have to for whatever reason."

Penny sat motionlessly and thought long and hard about that. She was stunned by how sweet and tactful he was, yet also upset that he wouldn't at least give her a say in it. She wanted him. She had no doubts that she had grown to care for Leonard a lot, and she felt she needed him like the air they breathed. It was the weirdest emotion to her, to be so sexually and mentally attracted to someone. There was a burning in his eyes that told her she wasn't the only one.

In a shaky voice, she said, "Maybe I want you, too. Maybe... Maybe you mean as much to me as I do to you."


	11. Chapter 11

Leonard looked hard at her, his brow drawn together in deep thought. Or shock. Maybe it was shock. She fidgeted nervously under his burning gaze and stood, intent on going to refill her glass. She felt his arm shoot out and grab her around the waist, pulling her down quickly upon him and smashing their lips together. She gasped and moaned Leonard's name quietly, feeling a certain thrill...

And her ringing phone put a stop to all of it.

They both looked disappointed as they broke away from each other and looked at her phone. It was Hodgkins. Penny felt her her heart leap in her chest, but in a bad way. She tentatively picked it up and pressed the answer button. "H–hello?"

"Yes, Miss. Penelope, Officer Hodgkins here, I'm calling to inform you that we captured Donovan. He was hiding in a cavern about two miles southeast from the site of your attack."

Penny felt a relief flood through her that she almost choked on, and Leonard waved at her, asking what was going on. "It's Officer Hodgkins. They caught Donovan."

Penny saw one of the strangest looks pass over Leonard's face before he said, "Turn it on speaker."

"We need you to come to the station tomorrow to identify him as the man who attacked you. He won't even see you, though he'll probably know you're there. Either way, it won't take long, and then a court date will be set up. We'll iron out the details later, I've got a lot of paperwork to file on this one. Have a good night."

With that, the line went dead. Penny felt Leonard's arms wrap around her once more and she welcomed being pulled to him and crushing her lips to his. She felt one of his hands tangle in her hair as the other held her close at the waist. Just as she was just about to climb into his lap, he pulled away.

"I..." he said, obviously out of breath and very turned on. "I don't believe... We should do this, now. There's a lot that needs to be done. And I know I'm fucking insane for wanting to wait, but–"

Leonard was cut off by Penny's lips as she silenced him in the best way possible. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled herself close to him. She pressed herself against him almost wantonly, and she could feel his resolve break. He returned his hands to their earlier positions and lowered her onto her back. He covered her with his body, and she could feel every rippling muscle of his chest and arms. His hand ran from her waist and slid down slowly over her hips...

Penny's eyes snapped open as a flash of Donovan invaded her mind, feeling his hands on her hips and gripping them tightly. The exact place she held bruises for weeks. Without meaning to, she screamed out, "Stop! Stop!"

Leonard immediately sat up, adjusting his glasses, "What? What happened? Did I hurt you?"

Penny felt her face flush, but she was too busy trying to calm her heart. She hadn't meant to freak out, and she really wished she hadn't. Leonard didn't have the best confidence, and she didn't want him to think he had done something wrong. She could feel her panic rise further as other images of that night tried to fight their way in. "No! I mean, no. I just... I... I guess I was reminded of Donovan... For a split second... When you grabbed my hips, I... I..." Penny was trembling, and she was trying hard to hold back tears. Her voice quit working, and as soon as she felt Leonard wrap his strong arms around her, she felt the dam in her chest burst.

She let him hold her as she cried. She was humiliated, she was scared, and she felt dirty and unworthy of someone like Leonard. She deserved the torment that she had gotten when she was with Kurt. But it didn't really matter. At that moment in time all she knew was that Leonard was there with her, and he didn't seem to have any intentions of leaving. Though she worried about what the future held for either or both of them, she decided to be selfish and keep him to herself as long as she could. She knew he would never harm her, and she knew that once she had Donovan properly put away where he belonged, she would feel more comfortable being with anyone. She thought about what Leonard had said about wanting to wait, and she admitted to herself that he was probably right. It more than likely would be less complicated that way, and she could get her emotions in order.

As her crying died down, she sniffled and asked in a muffled voice, "Will you stay with me still?"

He pulled back and gave her an almost sad looking comforting smile. "I'll stay as long as you need me to. I think you need to get to bed, though. You have a long day tomorrow."

She nodded, wiping her face on her sleeve. Her walked her to her bedroom, where she slipped into her bed. Before he could say goodnight, she asked, "Will you stay with me? In here?"

Leonard only hesitated for a moment before giving her a shrug. Removing his shoes and getting in the bed with her, he propped his back against the wall and letting her lay her head on his chest.

They stayed like that the rest of the night.

xxxxx

"Thank you for coming with me. I really want to get this over with," Penny said as she and Leonard walked through the double doors of the police station and passed through the metal detectors.

"It's no problem," said Leonard as they approached a lady sitting at the desk behind protective glass.

"How can I help you?" she asked, seeming to be quite irritated.

"Officer Hodgkins asked me to come in for a line-up," Penny said nervously.

The lady at the desk pointed to a bright red phone on the wall. "Dial 2840 and they'll have someone come get you."

Penny did as the lady said, and two minutes later she and Leonard were following an officer through the building and up an elevator. As soon as the doors opened, they saw Officer Hodgkins standing there waiting for them. He stepped forward as they exited the elevator and shook hands with both.

Hodgkins instructed them to follow him into a room at the end of the hallway, which was the spying room with the one sided glass.

"Now, we're going to bring in seven suspects. One is Donovan. If you pick him out, we're going to have him submit to an interrogation, assuming he cooperates." Pressing a button on a platform of switches, he said, "Send them in."

One by one, seven men all wearing handcuffs filed into the room adjacent to the viewing room. Penny was immediately shocked to see her attacker walk in third in line. Pressing a different button, Hodgkins said, "Face forward."

The seven men did as they were told, and even though she knew Donovan couldn't see her, she knew he knew she was there, and he sent a nasty grin towards the window.

He looked exactly how she remembered him. The long scar across his face, his lanky black hair, and that sadistic sneer that made her want to cringe.

"Well?"

"N-Number three," she said, trying to keep her mind from going to a bad place. She felt Leonard grab her hand.

"Yeah," Leonard said. "Number three. He's the same guy I saw last night."

Hodgkins nodded. "That's Donovan. Thank you for your cooperation. We'll have him escorted to the interrogation room. It may take some time to gather everything we need and get court dates set if he refuses to talk. There may be a slight chance that we'll have to knock a few years off of his sentence to get him to tell us who hired him. What do you think, Penny?"

Penny didn't like the idea of taking years off of his sentence, but she had seen enough criminal investigation shows to know that, sometimes, there is no other way, and she would be damned if whoever hired Donovan would get away. "Do what you have to so I can get back to my normal life."

Hodgkins nodded again, "We'll call you when we find out more."

Penny and Leonard left the police station after Penny signed the papers stating that she identified the guy. They had to take a cab, which made them decide to go ahead to a car lot and pick out their new cars. Leonard figured that it was what Penny needed, and their insurance companies had cooperated to where they could get both their replacement vehicles almost for free, excluding the tax, title and fees. Penny decided on another Volkswagen, where Leonard decided on another Volvo.

By the time the two got back, it was only three in the afternoon.

"Ugh, I am so emotionally drained," Penny whined as she threw her keys on the mail table. She kicked her boots off and flung herself onto the couch face-down. Leonard chuckled as he propped in the door frame. "Well, do you want to go out tonight? Have a little fun?"

Penny struggled to sit up from her awkward position and look at him. "Like, a date?"

Leonard reddened and looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. He mumbled, "Well, if you want it to be..."

"I'd love to go. I have got to get out of this apartment. All I do is work and stay cooped up in here." Penny eyed Leonard. "What did you have in mind?"

"Um..." Leonard stumbled. "I dunno. Maybe a club. Get a few drinks. But if you don't want to–"

"That sounds great!" Penny said, jumping from the couch and wrapping her arms around his neck. She kissed him on the cheek before running to her bedroom. She yelled out, "Be here to get me at eight!" before slamming the door closed to her bathroom.

She heard him yell something about five hours, but she didn't care how much time she had. She wanted to be perfect.

Leonard sat in his room, staring down an equation on his marker board. He wasn't really focusing on it, he just drifted in and out of his thoughts about Penny. She was driving him insane, but it a good-but-not-so-good way. He wanted her, and he knew she wanted him, too. But his damned morals kept him from taking her. And after her break-down the night before, he wasn't about to try and push her into anything. She was still obviously vulnerable, and he wasn't too terribly sure if he keep control of himself with her around. He hoped a good night of drinking and having fun would help keep her mind off of things.

She had called it a date, so Leonard took it upon himself to go ahead and make dinner reservations for a quarter past eight at a restaurant downtown that had a nightclub adjoined to it. He had also called and reserved a chauffeured car from the university, knowing that they both planned on drinking. He was nervous, even though he kept telling himself, It's just Penny. You two hang out all the time. This will be no different.

Yeah, but not in public. On dates. We always sit in her living room and watch TV.

She said yes, so that means she wants to.

But–

"Oh, Jesus Christ, I'm arguing with myself in my head." Leonard said frustratedly. He shook his head and stood, moving his equation board out of the middle of the room and made his way to the bathroom to get ready. It was almost seven, and he did want to make a good impression.

About thirty minutes later, Leonard found himself dressed and ready. He had gotten new clothes a few weeks before, his newly developed muscles not fitting quite right in his usual clothes. He managed to dress himself in a decent casual suit, which was pretty much a white button-down shirt, faded jeans and a well-fitted black blazer. Leonard had actually gotten his hair to a manageable state and he concluded that he didn't look half-bad.

He wait until five minutes before eight before gathering his phone and wallet and making his way to Penny's apartment. He waited until his watch confirmed it was eight before he knocked on the door. He heard her yell out, "Coming!" and then winced as he heard a loud crash. There was silence before he heard her yell, "I'm okay!" and her footsteps resumed running to the door.

When Penny opened the door, they both inhaled sharply at the sight of each other.


	12. Chapter 12

Leonard's mouth gaped open at the sight of Penny. She was wearing a very form-fitting red halter dress that ended almost mid-thigh, the gauzy red material flaring from the hips to make the dress swish around gracefully. The top of the dress was cut very low, almost too low for a halter, which made Leonard drool a little on the inside. She had done her makeup to accent her dress perfectly, her eye shadow starting in the middle as red and flaring out to gold, and her lips painted a rosy color. The shoes she wore were a pair of golden short strappy heels, not making her too tall. She had a red gauzy shawl to wrap around her shoulders, though he wasn't sure how much that would help her with warmth. Nonetheless, the effect altogether was enough to make Leonard start reciting elements in his head, trying to maintain control of himself.

Meanwhile, Penny stood there, stunned as well. She had gotten more than a good feel of Leonard's new muscles, but that was the first time Leonard had worn something that actually accented the contours of his strong physique. She noticed that even the edges of his face seemed sharper, more defined. All-around, Penny was very impressed. She had never once cared about what Leonard's body was like, but when he started getting into shape, she definitely didn't complain. It took her a good few moments of staring at him for her to realize that he was doing the same, and they were just standing there staring at each other.

Penny cleared her throat and hid a blush by turning around to close her door and lock it. "So," she said, trying to get past the very obvious sexual tension. "Who will we grace our presence with tonight?"

Leonard snapped out of it when she spoke and mentally kicked himself for ogling her like a schoolboy. Clearing his throat as well, he said, "It's this place downtown called Antoine's. I made reservations for dinner."

Penny looked at him questioningly as they began descending the steps. "I thought we were going for drinks."

Leonard gave her a smirk. "We are. There's a club joined to one side of the restaurant. I thought it might be a good idea to eat something before drinking. I learned my lesson that last time." Leonard laughed nervously.

"And you have to have reservations for the restaurant?" Penny asked, intrigued at this strange club.

"Yeah. The club isn't very exclusive but the restaurant is," he said as they passed the second floor landing.

"So, who's DD?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Leonard chuckled the rest of the way to the first floor and out the front doors where the university car waited for them. "Well, I didn't think Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock would solve that issue so I called in a favor. Come on," he said, gently grabbing her hand and escorting her to the back of the car and opening the door for her. "We wasted enough time staring at each other."

Penny was absolutely astounded by Leonard's boldness, or what she considered boldness coming from him. However, she didn't miss the tint of red that seemed to stain his face, and she couldn't stop herself from kissing him on the cheek before quickly climbing into the car. She watched Leonard stand with the open door a few seconds longer than necessary before shaking his head roughly and getting in the backseat beside her.

It took only took them ten minutes to get to the restaurant, and the whole way Leonard tried bis best to keep his opinions on their driver's driving to himself. Penny, on the other hand, was cheering their driver on, complimenting him on his ability to make red lights and yelling at random pedestrians. By the time the two entered the restaurant, Penny was breathless from laughing and Leonard was trying not to laugh at her laughing. After Leonard gave his name to the lady at the podium, they were escorted to their table and immediately offered a large selection of wine.

After they had decided on what they wanted and gave their orders to the waiter, Penny took the time to look around the place. The restaurant itself was dark, the main source of light coming from the bright blue orb lamps that hung over each table. The orbs gave everything in the room a blue hue, and there were what appeared to be blue Christmas lights wrapped around the four huge pillars stationed throughout the room. The walls were white and tilted inwards at a slight angle, and low glowing light blue lights reflected from below, giving the impression of a winter cave. Penny noticed something sparkle above her, and realized that there were different little blue lights and sliver stars suspended from the ceiling.

"This place is beautiful," Penny breathed, in awe of the decor. "How did you find it?"

Leonard grinned at her, and his smile made her breath catch in her throat. "I have a few friends that work in architecture at the university that helped design this place. They're very proud of it, and they've told everyone at the university about it." Leonard clinked his glass to Penny's before taking a sip. "Actually, because of their and the university's involvement with the building, this place has allowed all university employees access. We're welcome to dine or dance anytime we want."

Penny looked around the room again. "Good, because I definitely want to come here again."

She heard Leonard make a slight choking noise, and looked at him in time to see him take a sip of water from one of his glasses and clear his throat.

When Penny had said that, Leonard felt his heart try to leap out of his chest. He was thrilled that she was pleased with the restaurant, but what got him was that she had implied that she wanted to come back. And not only did she imply that she wanted to come back, she implied that she wanted to come back with him. Leonard was still having a hard time grasping the concept that someone as amazing and beautiful as Penny could possibly want him.

After their meal had come and gone, Leonard paid the check and escorted Penny to the other side of the restaurant, guiding her by the hand through a doorway that consisted of a hanging curtain of blue lights, swaying subtly. A very thick door lay hidden behind the lights, and when Leonard opened it, he could tell Penny was very genuinely surprised. They were suddenly in what looked to be a gigantic theater without seats, with balconies suspended high above them, all crowded with people. There was the same bright blue lighting theme, but the music and lights pulsed through the room as hundreds of people danced and jumped in time to the beat. Streamers and lights glittered through the room and reflected off of the many people drinking and dancing. Leonard and Penny approached the bouncer standing a few feet in front of the door. The large man nodded to both of them, having seen them enter from the restaurant side. The first thing Leonard thought to do was drag Penny to the bar, ordering them both shots of Crown to start off with. He normally didn't care for whiskey, but that was only because he had little to no physical tolerance for it. The both of them shot their drinks quickly and ordered two Amaretto Sours to sip on.

Leonard found a table for the two of them, and they yelled out their small talk to each other. Penny commented on how different the club was compared to the others she had been to.

"Well," Leonard said to her loudly, slightly uncomfortable with the noise level vs. their conversation ratio. "The owners are actually Alaskan natives. They own a chain of ice restaurants and ice hotels. When their son moved here, they built this place for him to run. They obviosuly can't build ice restaurants here, but they tried to fashion it as close as possible."

Penny, who already had two glasses of wine under her belt before they had even entered the club, said loudly, "That's so awesome! I would love to go to an ice restaurant!"

Leonard laughed loudly. "You wouldn't last five minutes in that kind of cold wearing dresses like that," he said, indicating to her highly provocative outfit.

Penny leaned close to him, grinning and obviously slightly drunk. "And what's wrong with my dress?" she breathed into his ear.

"Nothing. Not a damn thing," Leonard responded quickly, his eyes locked onto her seductive body. The only thing he didn't like about the dress was that it was still on her.

Penny giggled at him and leaned back to catch the cocktail waitress' attention. "Two more shots of Crown, please." As the waitress walked away, Penny leaned into Leonard again, only this time she said quietly into his ear, "So, what does a girl have to do to get a dance around here?"

Leonard quickly downed the rest of his drink, trying to get on her level. He took a deep breath and decided to try his hand with another bold move. Turning into her, he was close enough for their clothes to brush each other. He leaned his head forward, his lips almost touching her ear as he said just as quietly, "Whatever she wants to."

There was a heated look in Penny's eyes when he pulled away, and he watched her eyes flutter a little before she turned her head away, seeing the waitress coming back with their drinks.

"Two shots of Crown," the waitress said, setting the shots on the table.

"Thank you," Leonard said loudly over the music. He stuffed a five in her tip jar before she thanked him and sauntered off, yelling, "Four dollar Blow Jobs! We have four dollar Blow Jobs and four dollar Dirty Geckos!"

When Leonard looked back at Penny, he saw her giving him a slight drunken glare. "What?"

She giggled unexpectedly before saying, "Why didn't you ever tip me like that?"

Leonard laughed at the question. "Oh, please. You know Sheldon. He required us to pay 15% exact. Something about overachievers in an underachieving setting."

"Remind me to thump Sheldon when I see him. Now, come on. Let's take these shots!" Penny said cheerfully, raising her shot glass to Leonard's.

They both took the shots easily and ordered a couple of Whiskey Sours to sip on. After Leonard stuffed a few more dollars in the tip jar, the waitress seemed eager to check on them frequently. Penny sipped on her drink and watched the crowd for a few moments before she turned to Leonard and took his hand in her own. Slowly, she pulled him out to the dance floor and began swaying her hips, encouraging Leonard to play along. Though Leonard was never much of a dancer, he did know how to dance. He put his hands on her hips and moved with her increasing tempo. Her dress flared every time she moved her hips, and when she pulled away to twirl around once, the dress moved so perfectly around her form that Leonard instinctively caught her by the waist and pulled her closer to him, his body pressed against hers. He heard her gasp almost inaudibly, before he felt her arms wrap around his neck as she began rocking herself back and forth against him.

Leonard knew he was drunk, and Penny seemed to be pretty gone too. He could feel her beautiful curves move in perfect rhythm against him, and he couldn't stop himself as he leaned down and brushed his lips against the sensitive spot between her neck and shoulder. He felt her tremble before she moved her hands down from his neck and to his lower back. Leonard bit back a groan when she leaned in and barely grazed his jaw with her lips. He closed his eyes, enjoying every second of feeling Penny against him. Her body trembled once again, and he opened his eyes just as she connected her lips with his. He was surprised, but not thrown off as he quickly responded to her fervent kiss by grasping her waist and pulling her tight against him.

Right as Leonard broke away for air, he heard Penny gasp as she looked behind him. He turned quickly to see the very last person he wanted to see, given the circumstances.

And Kurt did not look happy.


	13. Chapter 13

Leonard sobered considerably and turned around, facing Kurt who was standing about ten feet away. Kurt approached him and Leonard felt himself tense up. Shaking his head mentally, he remembered from his classes to loosen himself and released his taut muscles, all the while keeping guard. Kurt spoke loudly over the music.

"So how much did you have to pay her?"

Leonard knew what he meant, and somewhere in his mind he felt his hackles raise. Remembering to keep his head, he said, "Good evening to you as well. Can I help you?"

Kurt clenched his jaw and gave Leonard a glare. "Why don't you go home and play with your chemistry set and let Penny have fun with a real man."

Leonard cocked an eyebrow at him. "I'm not sure you understand the concept of what a physicist is."

Kurt narrowed his eyes and looked around Leonard to address Penny. "Come on, babe. Let's have some real fun."

Penny raised both her eyebrows and surprised Leonard by giggling. "Fool me once, Kurt. Or twice. Whichever, you had your chance. Now go away, I can't hear the music over your ego."

A look of rage passed over Kurt's face as he reached around Leonard to grab Penny by the arm. Leonard caught his hand and forced Kurt back a step quickly. "I believe the lady made herself clear."

"So, little man finally grew some balls," Kurt sneered, standing up to his full height which was a good head taller than Leonard. "Stay out of this, midget."

Penny crossed her arms. "Kurt, get the fuck out of here. I'm sick of your shit."

"I'll leave when I'm damn well ready," Kurt snapped before he addressed Leonard once again. "She's out of your league. She's just using you. She'll come desperately crawling back to me when she realizes how much of a pathetic excuse of a man you are."

"I have no doubts that she's too good for me," Leonard said as neutrally as possible, trying to keep his anger in check. He knew enough about bullies to know that it was much better to not let them see that they had gotten under your skin. There was already a small circle of people around them that had stopped to watch the disturbance. "But the only desperate person I see here is you."

Kurt was immediately incensed and yelled, "Fuck you, faggot!" before suddenly lunging forward with his fist aiming to strike. He heard Penny scream, "No!" before Leonard sidestepped him just in time to make Kurt go lumbering past. Leonard grabbed his shoulders and brought his knee up quickly to meet Kurt's abdomen. His knee made full contact, which was powered by as much strength as Leonard could put behind it. The much larger man let out a groan and fell face first to the floor, grunting in pain and clutching his stomach. He only stayed down for a moment before he started to pick himself up off the floor. Leonard saw him grab at his waist and a glint of silver before he heard yelling behind him.

Leonard and Penny turned around right as two bouncers brushed past them and grabbed Kurt off the floor, restraining his arms. The bouncer who had let them in looked at Leonard as he struggled to keep a grip on Kurt's arm. Leonard no longer saw what could have caused the silver glint. "I saw what happened. I know he attacked first, but we're required to ask you to leave as well. Just for tonight."

Leonard nodded to the man. "I believe we're done for the night, anyways. Thank you."

Kurt growled at Leonard, struggling against the bouncers' grasp. "She just a whore! She'll always be a whore!"

Leonard took the liberty of ignoring him as he was dragged away and opted to turn to Penny, who stood there with a very odd expression on her face. He held his hand out to her and asked, "Ready to go?"

She blankly nodded and grabbed his hand, allowing him to lead her out of the club. Out front the university car was waiting. Leonard opened the door and allowed Penny to crawl inside as he looked around quickly. Satisfied, he ducked into the car, settling next to the slightly shaking woman. "Are you okay?"

Penny gave him a baffled look. "Why are you asking me? You're the one who was attacked. Are you okay?" she asked, looking him over for any sign of injury.

Leonard gave a chuckle. "I know you're not hurt. I'm asking if you're okay after having to deal with Kurt."

Penny shrugged and rubbed her temples briefly. "He definitely wasn't on my list of people I wanted to run into tonight. But I'm okay. I'm... You really defended me back there. And protected me. I... Thank you."

Leonard's face flushed red and he was thankful for the darkness inside the car. He was still pretty surprised with himself for actually fighting back for once, but then again, Kurt had been a threat to himself and especially to Penny. He mumbled quietly, almost too quietly for Penny to hear, "I told you, I'm not going to let anyone you get hurt you again. Once was one too many."

xxxxxxxxxx

"Do you want to hang out in my apartment? Sheldon is out of town until tomorrow," Leonard asked as they reached their landing.

"Where did he go?" Penny asked, fumbling with her keys. She was still far from sober.

"It was his MeeMaw's birthday today. I tried to convince him to stay longer, but he insisted that her birthday was only the one day."

"Sure," she said, smiling and unlocking her apartment. "Just let me change real quick. I'm freezing."

Leonard laughed at her, giving her a sly grin. "That's what you get for wearing... That." He said, eying her for what felt like the millionth time that night. The effect of her dress hadn't worn off one bit.

"Ha ha, yeah yeah, I know. It's superficial of me to wear something that obviosuly isn't logical."

Leonard gave Penny a surprised look. "You're starting to sound more and more like us every day. Bonus points for being drunk. Good job," he said playfully, dodging Penny's purse as she threw it at him and slipping into his apartment.

Penny growled at him, but she knew it didn't sound right when she tried to sound smart. It wasn't like she was stupid, it was just that her personality didn't suit coming off as smart. Shrugging, she shut the door behind her and went into her bedroom, stumbling three separate times. She stripped her dress off and walked into the bathroom to take off her makeup. As she scrubbed, she thought about what had happened in the club. Even though she was drunk, she still felt a type of fear when she saw Kurt there, though she didn't know why. And when he had attacked Leonard, her heart just about leaped from her chest before she saw Leonard take control. She saw the way Leonard had stood, steady but relaxed, and it was like watching everything in slow motion when she saw Kurt lunge blindly and Leonard calmly and calculatedly put him to the ground. Just remembering it sent a thrill through her, and she felt a small burning pit in her stomach as she thought about it. After she scrubbed and dried her face, she walked back into her bedroom and located her thick drawstring sweatpants and her long-sleeved black button up shirt. She left the top two buttons free, feeling her drunk self wanting to be a little naughty.

Five minutes later, she flopped into Sheldon's spot on the couch in Leonard's living room. She found the remote and turned the TV on for background noise, too drunk to really care what was on. A couple of minutes later, Leonard came out wearing his warm comfortable clothes. He sat on the couch next to Penny and clasped his hands together.

"So, you what do you want to do?" he asked, glancing at the infomercial on the TV. "It's only eleven."

Penny sighed, leaning over and resting herself on Leonard's shoulder. "Can't we just sit here?" Penny's buzz was still pulsing through her, and she felt sluggish and tired after everything that had transpired.

"Whatever you want to do," he said nervously, sitting back. He grabbed the remote and turned the TV to Sy-Fy, letting Warehouse 13 play idly in the background. Penny snuggled up closer to him, which Leonard didn't seem to mind as he put his arm around her shoulders. They stayed there like that until they both had drifted off to sleep.

xxxxxxxxxx

"So now Kurt's becoming a problem again?" Bernadette asked, settling herself next to Howard on Leonard's couch.

The next evening the group had decided to get together in Leonard and Sheldon's apartment for a game of Munchkin Cthulhu. Penny and Leonard took the time while the game was being set up to tell everyone what had happened the night before at the club.

"I hope not. I hope I never see him again," Penny said angrily. After she had woken up that morning with Leonard on his couch, her sober and slightly hungover self was completely livid at the gall her ex displayed by attacking Leonard in the middle of a crowded club. Even though Leonard had handled himself very well (excellent, in her opinion), it still infuriated her that he was still giving her problems after all those years. "Although, I have to say I'm glad it was Leonard that kicked his ass and not me."

Raj leaned over and quickly whispered in Howard's ear. Howard nodded and said, "I agree. Pics or it didn't happen."

Penny gave Howard a confused look. "What?"

Howard reiterated, "Pics or it didn't happen."

Leonard cut in at the lost look on Penny's face. "What he's saying is that they want proof that I did it or they're not going to believe you."

"Oh. Well, it's a good thing I don't care what you believe," Penny said, rolling her eyes at Howard and Raj.

"That's okay, Penny," Sheldon said with his comforting but not-so-comforting smile. "I often don't care what others believe, either."

"Yes," Amy nodded, smiling at Sheldon. "I find Sheldon's constant disregard for other people's opinions to be quite arousing. He's such a bad boy." She winked at Sheldon, who gave her a somewhat startled look before reshuffling the cards.

Bernadette gave the awkward couple a sad sigh before addressing Penny again. "Any idea why Kurt just showed up out of nowhere? It's been forever since you've heard from him, hasn't it?"

Penny nodded as she took a small sip from her water bottle. "Yeah. I thought he had moved away."

Everyone noticed as Sheldon paused and stiffened. They knew that was his epiphany stance as he sat there rigid for a couple of moments. Finally, he said, "Do you suppose that Mr. Pants Thief is the one who might have hired your hit man?"

The room went deathly quiet as everyone stared at Sheldon. Penny glanced at Leonard and saw his brain working it out as well, putting everything together. She shook her head and stood. "Whoa whoa whoa. Kurt? Do you really think it could have been him?"

Leonard looked up at Penny, looking a little grim. "It makes sense. He's apparently the only person with a serious grudge against you. I know it seems crazy, but it is logical. Although, I can't imagine why on earth he would go that far."

"Anyone's mind can snap," Amy said. "I would know. I look at their brains every day."

"But the guy didn't kill Penny. He just... hurt her," Bernadette said, looking sadly at Penny.

"Yeah," Leonard said ruefully. "The first time. I'm pretty sure if I hadn't rammed Penny's car that second time..."

Penny didn't miss the shudder go through him, and her bones felt a little chilly as well. Donovan could have easily killed her with that last encounter if it weren't for Leonard's quick thinking. She had had too many close calls. "Do you think we should call Officer Hodgkins and see what he thinks?"

"It would probably be best," Leonard said, standing. "Let's go call him real quick and get his opinion. We'll be back, guys. Don't start without us."

xxxxxxxxxx

The two reentered the apartment twenty minutes later to see the anxious faces of their friends.

"Well? What did he say?" Bernadette asked in her sweet voice.

Penny sighed and took her seat. "They're still in the process of interrogation. It's taking a long time because Donovan demands his lawyer that no one can seem to get hold of. They're giving him two more days before they make him submit to a polygraph. They're going to call me when they find out something. Otherwise, the only thing they can do is keep a close eye on Kurt."

"Did he say what he thought?" Amy asked.

"Yeah," Leonard grumbled. "He thinks we might be right about Kurt, seeing as he's the only person we know personally that has something against Penny."

Raj leaned over and whispered in Howard's ear.

"I agree. Let's start this game."

Everyone nodded and picked up the cards they were distributed. They decided on an unspoken agreement of leaving the morose topic alone, but that didn't stop Leonard from worrying about what could happen to Penny. After the night before, he had felt empowered that he was able to something to defend Penny's honor. However, the legal justice system made it difficult to take care of things the way he would like.


	14. Chapter 14

"Okay, so, I will give whoever helps me two treasures," Penny said, biting her lip at her hand. She was a level nine with an attack of nineteen. The Great Cthulhu, with which she was battling, was a level twenty. When she tried to level up her attack with Headgear, Sheldon shut her down by throwing down a Chibithulhu to help The Great Cthulhu. It was embarrassing, but effective. Her only hope was to ask for help.

"Why on Earth would we help you?" Sheldon sneered. "You're one level away from winning. You must think we're really daft – "

"I'll do it!" Raj said happily. Penny reached up and gave him a high-five.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about, Raj!"

"Raj!" Sheldon whined. "Why would you help her? She's going to win!"

Raj giggled and took a swig from his beer. He was much less than sober. "Why not? I'm drunk, I can help, and everyone else is so far behind that she'll win anyways." He gazed around the room with a challenging look. "So, any objections? Any more cards you want to pull on us? Bring it, bitches."

Penny looked at Leonard, who gave her a sulking look and put his cards down. Around the room, everyone placed their cards on the table in defeat. Of course, Sheldon couldn't be quiet about it.

"Dagnabbit, Raj! We could have held her off for at least three more turns – "

Leonard gave Sheldon a sharp look. "Oh, please. She was facing The Great Cthulhu and almost beat him by herself. It would have been over her next turn if not this one."

"Well," Bernadette said, standing. She looked tired but thoroughly amused with her friends. "I suppose that's that. Congratulations, Penny. You found another game to beat Sheldon at. We'll definitely have to do this again."

"Yeah, seeing Sheldon cry is worth getting beaten," Howard chuckled.

A sniffle is heard from Sheldon's covered face. "I'm not crying! I just have something in my eye!"

Amy patted Sheldon on the arm, "It's okay. All of us lost. At least it was to a beautiful goddess like Penny."

Sheldon uncovered his face and gave Amy a glare. "You're obsession with Penny is almost as bad as your obsession with me. At least I'm worth the praise."

"Hey!" Penny said, eying Sheldon. "That's not very nice."

Leonard leaned over from his chair to Penny's and whispered loudly, "It's okay. He also likes to say that I have narcissistic qualities. It's obvious that he just suffers from very bad judgment."

Penny giggled and stood, stretching her limbs. Howard stood up next to Bernadette and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Well, I think that's enough excitement for one evening. We best be going. Mother will be calling in soon for her midnight check-in."

Bernadette nodded. "Yeah, she's still not use to Howie not being home all the time. We'll see you guys later, okay? Bye!" With that, the couple left the apartment.

"Yes, it's time to feed Chardonnay. The vet put her on a very strict schedule of medicated dog food to help with her gout. He acts like it's my fault that she has expensive taste." Raj scoffed, standing up and wavering on his feet. "Whoa, I think I'm going to need to catch up to Bernadette and Howard and hitch a ride. Bye guys." He hurried out the door, stumbling after pulling the door to.

Penny looked down at her phone and saw that it was indeed almost midnight. "Crap! I have work in the morning!"

Leonard stood. "Well, come on. I'll walk you to your door."

"Good night, Penny," Amy said with a chipper tone. "Have fun being your beautiful self on camera tomorrow!"

Penny smiled awkwardly at Amy. "Thanks. Um, good night you two. Don't get into any trouble... or... whatever it is you two do."

Leonard escorted Penny out of his apartment and to her door.

"So, you did very well tonight," Leonard said, grinning at her.

"Why, thank you," she said, batting her eyelashes dramatically. "I must say, you did very well yourself."

Leonard snorted. "Please. I was a level seven with an attack of thirteen."

"Well, that was still better than everyone else. Bernadette never got past level one before she died. I told her to let me help her but she wanted to try and run away..."

Leonard laughed. "Still, I am very proud of you. You beat the nerds at another one of their own games. I'm surprised you kept up with all the rules."

"Yeah," she said, slowly raising her arms up to wrap around his neck. She dropped her voice to a lower, huskier tone. "Well, I'm required to remember all of the rules if I intend to break them, aren't I?"

Leonard grinned and hesitantly moved his arms around her waist, which she took as the go-ahead to plant a kiss on his lips. He only tensed for a moment before pulling her tighter and pressing his lips more firmly against hers. After a few moments of them being locked together, Leonard pulled away.

"Penny?"

"Hmm, yeah?" she said in a pleased manner, her eyes still closed.

"What... What is this?" he asked.

Her eyes popped open, staring into his. "What do you mean?"

Leonard sighed and gestured to the two of them embracing one another. "What is this? Us? I mean, are you my girlfriend or a very close female friend or what? I don't think normal friends go around making out with each other."

Penny grinned slyly at Leonard. "Friends with benefits do."

Leonard cocked an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure friends with benefits also have sex, which the last time I checked, we don't." He noticed the look on Penny's face and thought about what he had said. He quickly tried to correct himself. "B-but it's not like I'm asking for it. God knows I want to, but until Donovan talks, I don't think it's a good idea."

Penny smiled at him and drew him in for another kiss. When she pulled away, she said, "Sweetie, we are what we are. We shouldn't have to put a label on whatever our relationship is. I think it would be less stressful that way. Couples fight."

Leonard nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. So we're just going to be not-together, together?"

Penny laughed. "Exactly. Not-together together."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Penny sighed as she flumped onto her couch, exhausted after a long Monday of stunts. She had a stunt double for the most dangerous tasks, but she insisted on doing most of them herself. She was determined to be the best actress she could be, and some of the best actors and actresses she knew did their own stunts. Still, it didn't stop her back from aching after falling ten feet onto a pallet multiple times. She craned her neck towards her kitchen and spotted a bottle of wine on top of her fridge.

"Nooooo..." she groaned, reaching her hand pitifully towards it. "Why are you so far away?"

All of a sudden, Penny's phone rang, making her turn her hard stare away from the traitorous bottle that was out of her reach.

"Hello?"

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Leonard had heard Penny come home, but decided to wait for her to come over for Thai takeout night. He was trying not to be too imposing on her, even if he craved her like a drug. Instead, he focused on finishing up the paper he was typing up at his desk. He had several forms to fill out and countless documents to reinterpret before he began making use of the grant his department was given. It was a good thing, too. He was running out of things to melt with his laser just short of destroying university property. Sheldon was at his desk as well, typing madly on his laptop with headphones on.

After a good thirty minutes of trying not to think about his neighbor across the hall, he heard her door open. Within the next second, his door was flung open with Penny yelling, "LEONARD! – oh, you're right here. Good." She shut the door behind her and approached Leonard at his desk.

"What's up? Something wrong?" he asked, almost scared of the answer.

"Nothing's wrong. It's actually right. Kind of." Penny looked over at Sheldon, which oddly got his attention. "By the way, you were wrong. I just felt like saying that because it doesn't happen enough to you."

"Wrong?" Sheldon asked, pulling his headphones down. "I'm never wrong. What am I wrong about?"

Penny looked at Leonard again, satisfied that she had gotten Sheldon's attention. "Officer Hodgkins called. They finally made contact with Donovan's lawyer. They offered Donovan a forty year sentence instead of life in exchange for a written confession with the name of his employer and any other employer he can think of."

Leonard was ecstatic with this news. Though he didn't like the idea of her attacker getting less time, it was worth getting Penny out of harm's way. "So, they know who hired him? That's incredible!" he exclaimed jumping up and wrapping his arms around Penny. He pulled back and looked at her. "So, did they say who it was? Was it Kurt?"

"No," Penny said, glancing back at Sheldon, whose jaw had gone slack. "That's why I felt the need to tell Sheldon he was wrong. The guy he claims to have hired him's name is Jacob Middleman. I have no idea who he is, and that's what worries me."

Leonard drew his eyebrows together. "Jacob Middleman? I've never heard of him. Now we're back to square one as to why someone would hire someone else to kill you. Great."

Sheldon felt the need to cut in, obviously still miffed about being wrong. "But now they have the man's name, and once they have him in custody I'm sure they will find out why he did it."

"Maybe..." Leonard said, his thoughts trailing off.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Calm down, Sheldon. You pre-ordered and prepaid. Even if we're not first in line, you'll still get it."

The group of friends stood in Game Stop as it neared midnight. Halo 4 was set to be released when the clock hit twelve, and there were hundreds of nerds milling around the inside and outside of the store and in the street. There were several Master Chief lookalikes running around, one girl was dressed as Cortana, and there were even a couple of kids dressed as Grunts. The inside of the store was packed with mostly guys, all stationed around the ten different tables where the small tournaments were being held. Leonard had already played a round of Doubles with Penny, leaving their opponents crying and pathetically asking for Penny's number.

Penny wasn't the only female there being hit on. All throughout the store and outside, desperate gamers were cornering what few females were there, effectively annoying and slightly scaring some of them. Bernadette and Amy had tagged along, even though they were clueless about Halo. Howard had taken to growling at most of the guys that tried to chat up Bernadette, but Amy was loving the attention. Sheldon was so wrapped up in being first in line, he didn't even notice. He had decided to forgo the mini tournaments and wait eagerly at the counter for his brand new Halo 4 console.

"These people make mistakes, Leonard," Sheldon said in a condescendingly whiny voice. "I can't tell you how many reviews I've read saying an individual made a pre-order and there was a mix-up and the store ran out of stock and they had to wait for another shipment. I've waited for this game for five years, even if Bungie didn't make it. I'm finished waiting."

Leonard sighed and gave up, returning to where Penny and Raj were standing by the Master Chief cardboard display. Raj remained silent, quite sober and once again his selectively mute self. Leonard looked around and saw Bernadette standing behind Howard, who was deeply immersed in a match against a couple of teenagers. He couldn't see Amy.

"Hey, where's Amy?"

Penny suppressed a laugh. "She's outside flirting with a gaggle of boys. I swear, it's like they've never seen boobs before."

Leonard chuckled. "Well, they probably haven't. At least, not in real life. Are you sure Amy should be so smitten with admirers?"

"Oh, leave the poor thing alone, Leonard," Penny said, swatting him gently on the arm. "The most attention she gets from a guy is when she puts on her Lieutenant Uhura uniform for Sheldon. And even then it's iffy if he'll respond."

"I guess," Leonard shrugged. "Besides, once they realize she doesn't know anything about Halo, they'll probably leave her alone."

"Alright everybody!" a pretty little brunette employee yelled, standing on the counter. "We have five minutes until midnight! Everyone's receipts should be marked with a number, one through five. We'll need everyone with a one to stand in a line starting here – " she motioned in front of her " – two will be here – " she motioned beside it " – and so on. Make sure you have your marked receipts and make sure everything you owe is paid or you will not receive your copy. Is everyone ready to Continue the Fight?!"

There were loud cheers as everyone made their way to the respected line. Sheldon had managed to to get at the very front of line two, eagerly eying the stack of boxes that were the Halo 4 consoles. Howard had extracted himself from his game and managed to get in line with Bernadette about halfway down line four. Raj had shuffled quietly to the back of line one, which had made its way out the door. Leonard and Penny stationed themselves towards the middle of line two.

"So, if Sheldon is getting a copy of the game with the Halo Xbox, why are you getting a copy?" Penny asked, quickly popping the teenager behind her who had brushed his hand across her backside.

"Hey, kid, don't touch her again," Leonard reprimanded him. He couldn't have been more than seventeen, but was obviously embarrassed enough to leave his place and go to the back of the line. Satisfied, Leonard answered Penny's question. "Sheldon is getting the console with the regular edition. I'm getting the Legendary Edition."

Penny facepalmed and shook her head right as they were approached by Amy.

"These kids don't know what they're missing. They're lucky to be addressed by a female at all," she grumbled. Looking around, she asked, "Where's Sheldon?"

Leonard pointed to the front of the line, where Sheldon was obviously trying to start a debate with another gamer.

The little brunette employee stood on the counter once more, holding the countdown board up. "Ten! Nine! Eight! – "

The crowd joined in quickly and counted down, "Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!"

Cheers erupted as the five employees behind the counter immediately began checking receipts and passing out games and consoles. Sheldon immediately grabbed his console and made his way to Leonard, clutching his box for dear life.

"Sheldon, no one is going to steal your Xbox." Leonard said, rolling his eyes. The line was moving along fairly quickly, and they were already almost to the front.

"Oh, please, Leonard," Sheldon scoffed, looking around suspiciously. "I have no doubts that there are members of the Thieves Guild here. I can't take any chances."

"Thieves Guild?" Amy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, Thieves Guild. It's a Guild of Thieves."

Amy gave Sheldon an exasperated look.

"It's from the video game, Skyrim," Penny explained. She had seen Leonard play enough Skyrim to last her a lifetime, and she even had a character of her own, even though she was only a level nineteen.

Sheldon proclaimed that he was going to wait in the car, too paranoid of the others there. Amy followed him as Leonard finally managed to get his copy of the game and exited the store quickly with Penny in tow. The parking lot was swarming with people trying to leave as quickly as possible, and there were already two fender benders.

"Oh, my God," Penny said. "What is wrong with these people?"

Leonard laughed. "The same thing that's wrong with us. They want to get home as fast as possible and play their new game."

"But don't you guys have work tomorrow?"

Leonard gave her a wicked smile. "We may have taken a sick day."

Penny rolled her eyes once again. She knew it was going to be a long night.


	15. Chapter 15

“I found the Scattershot!” Penny said with tired excitement, holding her controller awkwardly in front of her like she always had. She always did well with Halo, but she was complete girl about it.

Penny and Leonard both sat in 4B playing Halo 4. It was bright and early the next morning after the premier, and both had decided to forgo sleep in pursuit of finishing the campaign. Sheldon had called it quits hours earlier, as had Howard and Raj. Amy and Bernadette had gone home directly after the premier. Penny suggested that they take Leonard's Xbox to her apartment so they could play without disturbing Sheldon. Leonard had a feeling she had ulterior motives, but it made sense, nonetheless.

“Here, pick up that DMR!” Leonard said, dropping his rifle and picking up a Splaser instead, noticing she was in dire need of longer range.

“Ahhhh! Kamikazi Grunt!” Penny yelled as her Spartan was blown into the air. “Nooooo...”

“I got you, I got you, oh – crap, sorry,” Leonard said, accidentally falling off of a cliff. He sighed tiredly and set his controller down, Penny doing the same. “I think we need to let the Xbox cool down. We've been going since a quarter after midnight and it's...” He checked his watch. “Oh, wow, it's eight in the morning.”

Penny yawned widely. “I can feel it.”

Leonard yawned in response. “How about we get a nap and we can try and finish this later?”

All Penny could do was give him a tired nod and lay back on the couch, closing her eyes. Leonard laughed softly.

“Going to sleep there?”

Penny moaned and nodded, not bothering to open her eyes. Leonard chuckled again and made a move to stand up. Just as he did, Penny's phone began ringing. Penny let out an even bigger groan and rolled over, blindly feeling around for her phone on the coffee table. Leonard spotted it tucked between her and the couch and grabbed it before she could crush it. He grasped Penny's searching hand and placed the phone in it, pressing the answer button as he let go.

Penny sat up and finally opened her eyes, holding the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“This is Officer Hodgkins. We have Middleman in custody.”

“Oh, hallelujah. Just what I needed to hear,” Penny said, pressing the speaker button on her phone before Leonard could tell her to.

“After a lot of research on him, we've found that Middleman is the go-between for a large number of illegal activities, including drug rings, trafficking and messaging for several gangs and black market organizations. It's going to take weeks to sort out everything we need to get his sentence. I don't think we'll be able to use your case in his hearing, though. There is nothing that ties him to you, and you said yourself that you have no idea who he is. However, we do believe we have enough on him from his other activities to prosecute him for at least thirty years.”

“How about I make him confess to what he did,” Penny spat. “I'll come down there right now and stomp a mudhole in his a – ”

“Officer,” Leonard started, effectively cutting Penny off. “You said Middleman is the go-between. What does that mean?”

There was a sigh on the other end of the line. “It means that anything anyone wants from the named activities, he's the guy with the connections. There are several go-betweens all over Pasadena, but he's got the biggest little black book.”

“So, if someone wanted a hit man...” Leonard said idly.

“Then Middleman would have been one of the main guys to get in contact with. We're going to try our best to get him to give us a few names. Most lower ranks like him are always willing to cop a plea.”

“Thank you, Officer. Call us when you have more details.” Leonard felt like they were running in place. They were doing something but getting nowhere.

“Oh, and one more thing. I took a little look at the Mr. Kurt Wade that you had your suspicions about. From what I've found, he was released six months ago from Las Encinas Hospital. It appears he was in there for drug rehabilitation. Apparently he was so bad off on steroids that he snapped in Hastings Village and... well...”

“What did he do?” Penny asking, her hand unconsciously finding Leonard's and gripping it.

“Well, he... He attacked a guy. An older gentleman.”

“How old?” Penny asked, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

“He... The gentleman was in a wheelchair. He's eighty nine years old.”

“That son of a bitch!” Penny yelled. “He wasn't arrested for it?”

“They gave him the option of going to prison or going to rehab and paying a fine. Which would you choose?”

“Hmm, good point,” Leonard said dourly. “So, do you think he may be caught up in all of this?”

“Possibly. If he's already snapped, there's no telling what he might do. I think I'm going to have a couple of officers keep an eye on him, just in case. You two stay safe, and call me if you see anything suspicious. Have a good day.”

The line went dead, and Penny looked at Leonard with a slightly surprised look on her face. “I had no idea he had been in rehab. And he attacked and old man? What the hell? He's lost his mind!”

“Which would explain why he seemed so crazy at the club,” Leonard said, nodding.

Penny gave him a sideways look. “Oh, please. He's always acted like that.”

Leonard raised an eyebrow at her, but decided not to pursue the subject further right then. “So, still want that nap?”

Penny gave him a small smile and grabbed the front of his shirt, leaning them both back so she could settle with her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and mumbled, “Let's just lay here. I don't want to go anywhere today.”

“But don't you have work?”

Penny shook her head lazily. “No, they're shooting some Earth military scenes today. Since my character isn't on Earth at the moment, they don't need me. Thank God, too, cause it's supposed to be out in the desert.”

“Too much sand?”

“It's the desert, Leonard. It's too much everything.”

Leonard smiled and rested his head back. “So... When does the pilot air?”

Penny smiled dazedly with her eyes still closed. “January 24th.”

“Really?” Leonard asked, taking a quick look at the date on his dying phone. “That's... This coming Thursday.”

Penny eyes snapped open again. “What?”

“It's six days away. Your premier.”

Penny's eyes widened. “Crap! I didn't realize it was that soon. Crap! Crap! Crap on a cracker!”

Leonard worked very hard to suppress a laugh at her small fit, and decided it was safer to ask, “What's wrong?”

Penny ran a hand through her hair. “I was supposed to ask – I mean I meant to... Um, I mean I need a date. For the pilot party. I meant to ask you like two weeks beforehand. I'm sorry, I didn't realize I had such little time left. So, um, would you like to go with me to the pilot party?” She asked, hyper-aware of the fact that her sentences were making very little, if any, sense at all.

“You... You mean you want me to come with you to the pilot party for a TV show?” Leonard asked, slightly shocked. He wasn't even aware that they held such parties.

“Well, yeah. Aren't we supposed to be not-together together?” she asked teasingly, poking him in his very solid abdomen.

Leonard gave her a long, hard look.

“George Lucas will be there.”

“Sold. What time will it be?”

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Penny – ”

“No, Sheldon.”

“Penny, please – ”

“No, Sheldon!” Penny stressed for what felt like the fortieth time. “I already asked Leonard to be my plus one. George doesn't want a lot of people there.”

Most of the gang was stationed in Leonard and Sheldon's living room the following Wednesday evening. It was Halo night, which suited the boys and Penny just fine. Amy was having dinner with her parents and Bernadette was out of town for the night for a pharmaceutical convention. 

Penny was perched on the arm of Leonard's chair, where Leonard was sitting. Sheldon was in his usual spot with Howard next to him with Raj on the other side. Penny was slaughtering Sheldon in-between his pleas, having accidentally let slip to him that she and Leonard were attending a party where George Lucas would be. 

“But Leonard's not worthy! And while we're on the subject, you're really not worthy to talk about him so formally,” Sheldon whined, frowning as his Spartan was stuck with a plasma grenade and blown into the air.

“Sheldon, I have already made up my mind,” Penny said with finality, smirking as her screen showed victory and the others' showed defeat. “And I work with the man on a daily basis. I think I do have the right to call him George.”

“Oh, please,” Sheldon scoffed. “You have just as much right to call George Lucas 'George' as Howard does to call Stephen Hawking 'Stephen.' Feh, posers.”

Howard gave Sheldon a glare. “Stephen gave me explicit permission to use his first name. When you work around someone long enough, it becomes awkward addressing them constantly as 'Professor.'”

“Yeah,” Penny said, actually agreeing with Howard. “And I can't constantly call George 'George Lucas.'”

Sheldon opened his mouth to retort, but Leonard cut him off. “Sheldon, leave it alone. Penny made her decision. She wants me to go with her.” Leonard felt that he probably had a huge smug look on his face, but he honestly didn't care. He was going to get to meet George Lucas.

Raj leaned over and whispered in Howard's ear. Howard nodded and looked at Leonard. “This makes the fifth time Sheldon has ever begged, right?” 

“Yeah.” Leonard was apparently very happy with this. “The first was when he begged Fox not to cancel Firefly, the second was him begging TNT to actually cancel Babylon 5, the third was him begging for death when he got food poisoning at the Rose Bowl parade, and the fourth was him begging Howard to introduce him to Stephen Hawking. Sheldon, your humanity is showing.”

Everyone laughed at this as Sheldon gave them all a sour look. Clearing his throat loudly, he said, “Well, as my begging seems to be futile, shall we continue playing? SWAT has been added to the game types.”

“But SWAT only allows four players per team,” Howard complained. “One of us will get shoved off onto the other team.”

“Okay,” Leonard said, backing out of the load screen. “How about Big Team Battle? That way we can all be on the same team and not get obliterated by Penny.”

Everyone agreed and hunkered down for the rest of the night, where they were showed up multiple times by their only female teammate. By the end of the night, Penny had well over a dozen friend requests.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to add that the character, Aastha Amala, belongs to me. All other recognizable characters do not belong to me. This chapter may not progress the story much, but I think it's a great chapter, nonetheless. Enjoy! :)

“Sheldon, if you try and sneak in my trunk one more time, I'm going to tie you to a chair and turn on a House marathon.”

Leonard huffed irritably at his roommate as he watched Sheldon crawl out of the back of his Volvo. Sheldon let out a “Drat!” as his shoelace snagged a securing bar and sent him tumbling onto the pavement in front of their apartment building. Penny sat in the passenger seat, giggling silently.

“Very well, Leonard,” Sheldon said haughtily, standing and brushing himself off. “But just so you know, I have a Star Trek Stun Gun Laser Tag game coming in the post soon and you don't get to play with it, so there.”

Sticking his tongue out childishly, Sheldon stalked towards the doors of the building with his head hanging low. Penny felt her heart go out to him a little, but not enough to want to take him instead. He was being incredibly annoying about the whole thing. However, she decided to remind herself to set up a day she could finally introduce Sheldon to George Lucas. Just to get him to chill out.

Leonard got back in the driver's seat and pressed the start button, eying Sheldon as he reached the doors. Suddenly, Sheldon took off in the direction of Leonard's car again, and Leonard had to roll his window down. “Sheldon!”

“Oh fine!” Sheldon whined angrily, stomping back towards the building.

Penny couldn't stop her outburst of laughter. “So, he doesn't like House, I'm guessing?”

“Nope,” Leonard said as he put the car in drive and pulled out. “He feels like Dr. House is too much of a high-and-mighty know-it-all.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Penny was super relieved that they decided to leave early, because Sheldon's antics made them right on time. They walked into the studio with thirty minutes until the premier, which meant she had time to socialize and introduce Leonard to her coworkers. She could tell he was nervous, so she had no problem sticking by him to help him relax a little. The first interesting person they ran into was one of Penny's co-stars, Aastha, who played her best friend, Lena, on the show.

“So, I know you saw her at the audition, but this is Aastha Amala. She plays the role of my best friend on the show,” Penny said happily, gently hanging onto Leonard's arm. “And Aastha, this is Dr. Leonard Hofstadter. He's a very close friend of mine and lives across the hall from me.”

Leonard smiled and laughed as he reached forward to shake hands with the little Indian woman. “Yeah, I remember you. You were the one that told that tall big chested blonde to quit jumping around before she gave herself a black eye. I like you. You got balls. She was easily twice your size.”

Aastha laughed and returned the handshake. “Thank you,” she said in a light accent. “I'm actually quite scrappy. At that point, I had had it up to here with busty blondes taking away my chances. Well, Penny's a blonde, but she's flat chested so I'm okay with that.”

“Hey – ” Penny started before Leonard cut her off.

“That's him!”

Penny turned quickly to see her director settle himself at a large round table that was covered in all kinds of food. The table had been set up for the cast and their guests to sit at so they could watch the show on the big screen TV that had been brought in. He didn't seem to be bothered by too many people, so Penny decided that that was the best time to introduce Leonard.

“We'll catch up with you in a little bit, Aastha. There's someone here that Leonard really needs to meet.”

Aastha rolled her eyes. “Another Lucas fan?”

Penny laughed, “Yeah. But 'fan' would be an understatement.” Gently tugging on Leonard's, Penny lead him towards the table, where she could feel Leonard tense more and more with every step towards his idol.

When they reached the table, Penny was sure Leonard was going to pass out any second. He was sweating slightly and she could feel him quivering in what she assumed was excitement.

“Um, hey, George,” Penny said cheerily, getting her director's attention. “This is my close friend and neighbor, Leonard. He's one of the ones that helped me train for the audition you saw. Leonard, you obviously know who this is.”

Leonard laughed almost hysterically. “Of... Of course I know. Who this is. This... This is...You're George Lucas. You're the George Lucas. Of course I know who you are,” Leonard said excitedly before standing there for a moment feeling like a complete dumbass. Mentally shaking himself and clearing his throat, Leonard extended his hand to shake George Lucas'. “Sorry. What I meant to say is hi, I'm Dr. Leonard Hofstadter. I am a huge fan of your works.”

George gave a short laugh and grasped Leonard's hand firmly. “Obviously.” Letting go, he took a sip of his champagne before asking, “So, you helped in coaching Penny?” His tone was made of sincere curiosity as he motioned for Leonard and Penny to sit next to him. Leonard hurriedly pulled Penny's seat next to the director out for her before sitting on her other side.

“Um, sort of. When she found out about the audition, my friends and I offered to help her, considering we all speak fluent nerd. You could imagine our reaction when she told us you were directing this show.” Leonard said in an obviously restrained voice, nodding a thanks to one of the set hands who poured Penny and him a glass of champagne.

“You're not the first I've encountered, that's for sure,” George said, swirling his glass. “However, I much prefer the fact that you have a PhD. Makes you seem a bit less crazy.”

“Oh, don't be so sure of that,” Leonard chuckled. “You have yet to meet my roommate Sheldon. He has an M.A., a Ph.D., and a Sc.D. and he's probably the craziest person you'll ever meet. Though he'll swear he's not – his mother had him tested.”

Penny leaned over and whispered sarcastically to Leonard, “Thanks for softening the blow. It's not like I have to eventually introduce them or anything.”

Leonard laughed nervously as George continued, “Well, I think you've done a fine job. I was impressed to see her audition. Her skills with acting and with the stunts made me reread her rather poor resume.”

“Thank you, sir,” Leonard said nervously, trying to keep from squealing like a schoolgirl. “But it was mostly Penny. I guess she's been around us for so long that we rubbed off on her.”

“How long have you been neighbors?” George addressed Penny, surprising Leonard more and more with the odd kindness the man seemed to be showing. Most of the few celebrities he had ever met were rather rude and not really interested in anything Leonard had to say. However, Leonard was sure it had something to do with the fact that he wasn't a random doting fan. He was the guest of one of his actors. His main actor.

“Uh, a little over six years now,” she said brightly, giving Leonard a quick glance. “I moved across the hall from them and asked for help setting up my printer one day. Next thing I knew, I was sucked into a vortex of Star Wars, Star Trek, Halo and all kinds of complicated sci-fi stuff. I guess the physicist part had to be an added bonus.”

George gave a short chuckle. “So you're a physicist?” he asked Leonard.

Leonard hoped his face wasn't turning red. “Yes. I'm an experimental physicist focusing on... several things.”

“Like what? I have a small understanding of physics,” the director said, looking intrigued.

“Well,” Leonard said, slightly embarrassed. “My research topics vary from Bose-Einstein condensates and fundamental tests of quantum mechanics to soft cosmic rays at sea level and the development of novel rocket propellants. Our research had been at a standstill until recently, so when the paperwork is done we'll be able to start our next project.”

“Fascinating,” George said, taking another sip from his glass. Leonard raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. George explained, “I have a nephew who's attending Princeton, majoring in Experimental Physics.”

“Oh,” Leonard said, smiling. “Princeton is my alma mater.”

“Well, seeing how well adjusted you are – for the most part – I think I'll be glad to see him graduate from there.”

“Two minutes to showing!” someone exclaimed in the background. Everyone milling around them quickly made their way to a suitable viewing spot, and the lights were dimmed.

George leaned over and grasped Leonard's hand in a shake. He said quietly, “In case we do not speak again tonight, Dr. Hofstadter, it was a pleasure meeting you. I hope Penny invites you to more of our soirees.”

“It was definitely a pleasure meeting you, sir,” Leonard said, shaking his hand briefly before letting go and settling back to view the TV. Penny could practically feel Leonard buzzing with excitement, and she was relieved that George seemed to get along just fine with Leonard. Sheldon, however, would be a completely different story.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Penny, I don't care if I have to say it a thousand times, that was amazing. You did an excellent job! I'm so proud of you.”

Leonard and Penny emerged onto the fourth floor landing, Penny relying heavily on Leonard to keep her walking straight after the few too many glasses of champagne. It was still early, only nine, so Leonard escorted the two of them to his apartment.

“Thank you. You have no idea how much that pilot episode hurt me to make,” she giggled, standing up straight as Leonard opened the door to his apartment.

The lights were off, but as soon as they walked in, they were flicked on to reveal several people jumping up and yelling, “Surprise!”

Penny was genuinely surprised. “Oh my God, you guys! You guys didn't have to do this for me,” she said, taking in the banner that said “Congratulations Penny!” Bernadette and Howard were there with Raj, Sheldon, Amy, Stewart, for some odd reason Barry Kripke, and Will Wheaton.

“Yes, well,” Will said, stepping forward with his hands clasped behind his back. “It's not every day that someone is inducted into the life of TV stardom. Welcome to my world.”

Penny rolled her eyes and stared him down. “Oh, please. I work under the director of Star Wars, not Star Trek.”

There was a low oooohhhing throughout the room before Raj jumped in, clutching an empty beer bottle. “Penny! You have got to indroduce me to Lena! She's the most adorable thing I've ever seen and I must have her!”

“Her real name is Aastha Amala, and I've already considered trying to hook you two up,” Penny said, draping an arm over Raj's shoulder. “Am I supposed to tell her you're rich?”

“No, don't do that!” Raj exclaimed, moving out from under her arm to face her. “I want her to like me for me and not my ridiculous amounts of money.”

“Raj,” Penny said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “She's an actress. If she's making anything near what I'm making now, she's not too terribly worried about money. It was a joke.”

“Oh. Good.”

“Hewwo Penny.”

Penny forced a grin to turn to Kripke, who seemed pretty tipsy and looked kind of sleazy. “Hello again, Kripke. Always a pleasure seeing you,” she lied through her teeth. “What brings you here?”

Barry waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Penny. “When would I evuh pass up an oppowtunity to hang awound a young, beautifow actwess such as yowself?” he asked, putting an around around her shoulders.

“Um, ew, no,” she said, removing his arm and walking over to stand by Leonard and Bernadette. Leonard was chuckling at her misfortune.

“Shut up,” she snapped, grabbing a beer from a cooler next to the door.

“Penny,” Bernadette started in her sweet voice. “Your show is incredible. I was instantly hooked.”

“Yeah,” Amy stepped in, grinning from ear to ear. “My bestie is a beautiful TV star. I think all of my dreams have come true.”

Penny jumped when she realized someone was standing behind her and Leonard. She let out a growl when she realized it was Sheldon. “Don't do that. You nearly scared me to death!”

Sheldon looked down at her and said simply, “Yet you barely bat an eyelash when several people jump out at you from the dark and yell 'surprise.' Why am I not surprised?” Sheldon turned his attention to Leonard, at which all of the boys decided to take as their cue to corner him. “Well?”

Leonard laughed nervously. “Well, what?”

“Dude!” Raj said. “You're totally holding out on us. Tell us about George Lucas!”


	17. Chapter 17

Knock knock knock.

“Penny?”

Knock knock knock.

“Penny?”

Knock knock knock.

“Pen – ”

“ – WHAT Sheldon?”

Silence.

“... ny...?”

It was early Monday morning the following week, well before eleven, so Sheldon guarded his throat with care when he heard Penny's roar. The door swung open to reveal the very murderous looking Nebraskan blonde with her fists on the hips of her pink silk sleep shorts, so he leaned back quickly and covered more of his throat.

“Good morning, Penny...” he said cautiously, eying her skeptically up and down.

“Sheldon, what did I tell you?” Penny asked angrily.

Sheldon responded with quick nervousness. “I concede to the fact that we developed a mutual understanding of the appropriate time with which I am allowed to interrupt your R.E.M. cycle. And I also concede to the fact that we developed a mutual understanding of the repercussions that would occur if I violated the first mutual understanding. However, this is urgent and upon Leonard's request.”

Unballing her fists and crossing her arms across her blue tank top, she growled, “What do you want, Sheldon?”

Sensing it was safe to uncover his throat, Sheldon lowered his hand and straightened out his shirt. “Leonard is not feeling well today and has decided to forgo work. Howard and Raj went in early to work on Howard's six-breasted robot so Leonard told me to ask you to drive me to work. I believe he said to use the exact phrase, 'calling in a favor.'”

Penny's lips pursed, knowing that she had no morally correct way of getting out of driving her insane neighbor to work with that logic. Throwing her head back in despair, she said, “Balls. Let me put on my shoes.” She backed up a step and shut her door. Not a moment later, she reopened the door and smacked Sheldon with a projectile hairbrush before slamming the door once more.

xxxxxxxxx

Penny sat behind the wheel of her VW with a very annoyed look on her face.

“... You could start with 'Arsenic,' to which I would say 'Cadmium,' to which you could say 'Meitnerium,' which I would respond with 'Mercury...'” 

Sheldon chattered on happily, not understanding Penny's sighs of frustration. She decided to block him out completely and focus her thoughts on Leonard. Sheldon had said that Leonard was ill and that worried her a little. She made a mental note to pop into his and Sheldon's apartment when she got back to make sure he was okay.

Penny was starting to become a little impatient, as it were. She had hardly spent time with Leonard since the premier, and it had given her ample time to think about her relationship with him. She was slowly coming to the realization that she really did want him, and she really did want to be with him. She was also pretty sure that Leonard wanted her too, but he was so cautious with her, so worried about hurting her or pushing her too much. She appreciated his regard for her feelings after everything that had happened, but it was driving her insane. Her nightmares were even starting to be replaced with dreams of him, and they were very intense dreams, indeed. She found herself awaking most mornings covered with sweat with an intense urge to retrieve her adult massager from her bedside drawer.

After Penny finally rid herself of Sheldon, she hauled ass back to the apartment building and took the stairs two at a time up to their floor. Wearing her Ugg boots and still in her sleep clothes (which she was freezing in), she grabbed the spare key from her apartment and let herself into Leonard and Sheldon's apartment. She was surprised to see Leonard in the kitchen in his robes.

“Hey, you,” she said, shutting the door behind her and making her way to the kitchen.

He looked up from the mug of tea he was making. “Oh, hey. What's up?” He had bags under his eyes and he was more pale than usual, which worried Penny.

“Sheldon had me drive him to work cause he said you were sick,” she said, taking the mug from him and continuing the dipping motion he had been practicing on it. “I wanted to check on you and see if you need anything. Now, get back in bed while I finish this tea and I'll bring it to you. You look like crap.”

Leonard gave her a very long, sideways look. Cocking a grin, he said, “So, the strangest thing just happened. My crazy neighbor chick just came into my home and ordered me around like she owns the place and had the audacity to insult me to my face. Man, what a bitch.”

Penny laughed and poked him in his chest. “Yeah, well, she only thought it was fair that she should take care of her closest friend while he's not feeling well since he stayed with her for weeks when she wasn't well.”

“Hmm, you do owe me,” he said, smiling back at her as he made his way back to his bedroom. 

Penny finished his tea and brought it to his room, where she found him already back in bed. She placed it on his nightstand and sat next to where he was laying. “So, do you want me to cook you something for breakfast? You know that I make some mean French toast.”

Leonard smiled at her and attempted to suppress a cough. “I'm good. I ate a grilled cheese right after Sheldon left. Go on home and go back to bed. I'm sorry I had to make Sheldon wake you up so early. You didn't hurt him, did you?”

Penny laughed again. “I'm not going anywhere. And the biggest injury he sustained was a hairbrush to his forehead. Didn't even leave a mark... Damn, that's disappointing.” Leaning back, Penny made herself comfortable next to Leonard. “Anyways, what's wrong with you other than the obvious 'you-look-like-crap' crap?”

Penny's closeness did not go unnoticed by Leonard, who was not too sick to pull his mind out of the gutter. He could see the chill bumps rise on her almost completely bare legs, save for her incredibly short pajama shorts. She wasn't wearing a bra, so the tank top she wore did nothing to suppress her chill-hardened peaks which were brushing against him slightly. Leonard could feel the blood rushing to his groin despite his being ill. “It's just the, uh, crud. You know. The usual cold. I honestly could have went to work, but I just didn't feel like it. It's much more satisfying to just lie in bed.”

“Are you using me, Leonard Hofstadter?” Penny asked, smiling and quirking an eyebrow at him.

“I told you to go home and go back to sleep. I'm not that bad sick.” Picking up his mug of hot tea from the bedside table, Leonard sipped the liquid cautiously. “Just some extra rest and I'll be okay.”

“Well, I'm sorry to inform you,” Penny said, replacing the mug and moving Leonard over some to get comfy in his bed with him, “that I am now commandeering this bed. You may still reside here, but I am now in charge. And I say that we take a nap.”

“Ay ay, captain,” he chuckled, adjusting himself and pulling the cover over them.

They both drifted off quickly.

xxxxxxxxxx

“Leonard...”

Leonard slowly awoke a few hours later to the sound of his name being softly moaned. It took him a few minutes to focus and get rid of the grogginess, but it didn't take him long to remember that Penny was in his bed with him. Turning his head to face her, he saw that she was sprawled on her back with her arms above her head, which was upturned. Her neck and chest were covered in a thin sheen of sweat and her chest was rising and falling heavily. It was a very erotic sight for him, and his morning erection had suddenly turned from just that to a hard on for the moaning woman next to him.

What really got him was that she was moaning his name.

“Leonard...”

He sat up a bit to get a a better look at her as she slightly undulated against the bed slowly. Leonard wasn't sure if he should wake her, and honestly, he really didn't want to. It was the sexiest thing he had ever seen or heard, and he definitely didn't want it to end. He was in awe that the goddess in his bed was groaning his name and he wasn't even touching her. She was clearly dreaming, and it excited Leonard to hear that her subconscious wanted him. It was becoming increasingly difficult not to touch her, and his erection was straining hard at that point.

“Penny... Wake up,” he said lowly, prodding her arm slightly. He felt as though he needed to be institutionalized for being insane enough to pass up the incredible opportunity presented to him. “Penny, you're dreaming. Wake up.” He prodded her arm once more, which finally prompted her to open her eyes.

Her breathing was still slightly labored, and her cheeks were definitely flushed. She looked around a moment before settling to look at him.

“Good morn – ” Leonard began to say before she cut him off by crushing her lips to his. “Umfph... Um, I am... still sick... you know – ” he tried to say, muffled by her mouth. He knew she heard him, but she obviously didn't care as she straddled him and moved her hands under his t shirt, running along his firm chest and abdomen. 

She massaged his tongue with hers and pressed herself tightly against him, grabbing his hand and slowly moving it up to her chest. She positioned his hand over her right breast and pressed his hand onto it. They both gasped through their joined lips when he caught the hint and gave it a firm squeeze, sending shocks through both of them. Penny adjusted herself and found Leonard's hardness pressing against her, which elicited a groan from her as she gyrated slightly against him.

“Oh, Leonard...”

Her mouth was hot on his, and he was experiencing intense pleasure from her ministrations on his tongue. Her nails raked his chest gently, which pulled a deep growl of satisfaction from the back of his throat. He finally moved his left hand up and away from his grip on her waist to gently cup Penny's left breast, running his thumb over the hardened peak. He felt her inhale sharply, and he grinned into her mouth as he lifted his hips slightly into hers. Then he felt one of her hands begin to slide down his body.

“Um, whoa,” he said nervously, finally pulling his mouth away from hers. She was breathing hard, with him huffing just as much. He detached his left hand from her breast and used it to stop her hand from going any lower. “We gotta... We gotta cool down... We don't... We don't want to... Do anything we'll regret...” he managed to get out, moving his other hand away from her soft mound and back to the safe zone of her waist. He heard her groan in obvious disappointment.

“Whyyy?” she whined, rolling off of him and sitting up on the side of the bed. Her hair was everywhere and she was still very flushed. The sight almost made him forget.

“What happened? I blacked out... Oh, wait, no. I've... I've told you before! Why I think we need to wait. I'm not sure it's a good idea...”

He couldn't finish his thought before she snarled in frustration and launched herself out of his bed and out his bedroom door.

“Where are you going?” he yelled out to her.

“To masturbate, you frigid nerd!”

xxxxxxxx

After Leonard took an extended visit to the shower (to help relieve his frustration), he dressed in some comfortable clothes and decided to post up on the couch. After about an hour of Babylon 5 reruns, Leonard's door was flung open to reveal a fully clothed Penny.

“Oh, hey, about earlier – ” Leonard tried to start before she cut him off.

“ – We'll talk about that later,” she said quickly, walking over and standing next to Leonard on the couch. “Look, Officer Hodgkins called. They managed to find Middleman's files. Apparently he smashed his Blackberry, but he was was stupid enough to sync his contacts and information with his computer. Leonard...”

Leonard gazed into her eyes, which were full of a mixture of fear and excitement. 

“They found Kurt's information in his files.”

Silence permeated the room and hung heavy in the air as Leonard comprehended what she said. Her hands were clasped tightly together in front of her and she was bouncing slightly, he bottom lip between her teeth.

“So...” Leonard started slowly. “That means it was Kurt who hired him. Hired them. Middleman and, by extension, Donovan.”

There was another moment of silence as that sunk in before Leonard continued. “Do they have Kurt in custody?”

“No,” Penny said disappointedly, throwing herself back in Leonard's chair and covering her face with her hands. “He high-tailed it as soon as he found out that Middleman had been arrested. Hodgkins tried to have someone tail him, but they found out that his apartment had been abandoned shortly before they got there.”

“Son of a bitch!” Leonard barked, sitting up and bouncing his fist off his knee angrily. 

“Yeah. They have no idea where he is.”

After hanging his head in his hands for a moment, Leonard looked up and said, “At least we know for sure who it is.”


	18. Chapter 18

A couple of weeks later, Penny knocked quickly and entered Leonard and Sheldon's apartment for pizza night. The boys were all settled in their usual places, but Bernadette and Amy both were working late so it was just Penny with the boys.

“Hi guys,” she said happily with a hint of exhaustion. She closed the door behind her and walked around to Leonard's side.

“Hey, Penny,” Leonard said, immediately hopping from his seat and letting her sit there.

“Hi, Penny!” Raj exclaimed happily, beer in hand. “Guess what. Your cute little Hindi costar texted me! I can't believe you actually gave her my number instead of telling me you were going to give her my number but never do. That was really great of you.”

Penny eyed the beer in Raj's hand skeptically. “Sweetie, I think you need to slow down on the beer.”

“Penny, I'm being serious! I have an actual actress talking to me!”

“Raj,” Penny said with raised eyebrows, standing and motioning to herself. “I'm an actual actress.”

Raj giggled and took a swig of his beer. Wiping his mouth, he said, “Yeah, but I've already slept with you.”

Everyone in the rooms' jaw dropped at his comment just as Raj realized what he said. “I – I mean, since nothing ever happened that night. At all.”

“Well, then,” Penny said angrily before plastering a smirk on her face. “Since we agreed upon never speaking of it again and you violated that, I think that it's high time everyone knew the truth.” Turning to address the whole room, Penny said, “Raj and I never did it. He couldn't hold out long enough.”

There was silence in the room as Raj covered his face.

“Okay, who had Raj getting overexcited?” Sheldon said out loud, looking around at Leonard and Howard.

“I did,” said Howard, reaching his hand out for the twenty bucks that Leonard and Sheldon both handed him. When he noticed Penny and Raj's completely puzzled looks, he said, “Oh, none of us believed you two actually did it. I bet that Raj couldn't control himself, Leonard bet that he passed out before he could do anything and Sheldon bet that you two were up all night trying to plan a pathetic attempt at world domination. And I won. Thank you, guys!” He looked at Raj quickly and added, “And a special thanks to you for jumping the gun. I knew I could count on you.”

“Aw man,” Raj said, putting his beer down and hanging his head. “My one great accomplishment in life and it's taken away from me. Thanks a lot, guys.”

“Shut up, you were in People magazine,” Penny said, swatting his arm and settling back into Leonard's chair.

“So, changing the subject from your fake sex life, how was work, Penny?” Leonard asked, picking up a slice of pizza and setting it on a plate for her.

“Exhausting to be honest,” she said, picking up the slice and taking a bite. “We're currently shooting a fight scene between me and this big alien thing called a 'Gromble.' It's mostly effects but I'm still doing mock combat with an actual person so I've been knocked on my ass a couple of times. I'm glad the floor pretty well stays padded.”

“That actually sounds kind of neat,” Leonard said, getting up and going to the fridge for a bottle of water. “As long as you're not getting too banged up.”

“Yeah,” Howard chuckled. “We know how bad getting 'banged up' can be.” Howard and Raj both tried to suppress their snickering as Leonard and Penny both gave them a glare.

Raj added, “Have you been 'banged up' by Leonard yet?”

“Yeah,” added Howard. “I'm sure he could have you 'banged up' really good.”

Penny pulled a couple of slices of pizza out of the box and slid them onto her plate before standing. “No. Not that it's any of your business but I can guarantee he's done a hell of a lot more than Raj did. And I think I would like to eat in my apartment tonight, so goodnight.”

With that, Penny stalked out the door, slamming it behind her.

Sitting back down, Leonard asked, “What the hell is wrong with you two?” 

xxxxxxxx

Penny entered her apartment with her plate of pizza in hand, using her empty hand to flip the light switch. Just as her hand touched the switch, she felt something move behind her. Before she could react, a hand covered her mouth as a strong arm encircled her body, binding her arms to her sides. Dropping her plate of pizza, she immediately kicked her legs out and twisted her body, knocking over her mail table in the process. Unable to scream for help, she settled for breaking stuff hoping to God that somebody heard her and decided to check. Her captor turned the two of them around to where she kicked out again and connected her boot with her coffee table, effectively smashing it. Suddenly, she was thrown to the floor face-down and her arms were pulled behind her back. She felt her left shoulder dislocate, but the pressure of being held down restricted her lungs and prevented her from screaming aloud. Pinned, she could do nothing as she felt a needle prick in her backside. She was held there as she struggled for only a few minutes until she began to feel a haze take over her body.

Still struggling but losing control of her movements, she tried yelling out, only to have a rag stuffed in her mouth. Unable to scream, she laid there until she could no longer summon any kind of energy. The room was becoming distorted, and she was becoming confused. All of a sudden, she felt someone grab her and flip her over onto her back. And that's when she saw him.

Kurt.

He looked angry, insane. And hungry.

He felt her relax and let her go, knowing she wouldn't be going anywhere. “Oh, Penny,” he said in a sadistically sweet tone. “Don't you know that I love you? Don't you know that you belong with me? You're not smart enough for that nerd. And he isn't good looking enough to satisfy a woman like you.” He picked her up and took her back to her bedroom, where he laid her on her bed. Penny was losing her grip, and she was beginning to wonder who Kurt even was, or what he was doing there. The drugs he had given her were beginning to take full effect, to the point that she couldn't remember why she had to struggle. “Donovan was supposed to kill you after he had his way with you. You were nothing but a whore at that point. Well, now I'm going to have my way with you, in your bed, for your little punk nerd to find after I've already taken off with you. How does Brazil sound? I'm sure you have more than enough money in your account from working that little TV show.”

Penny found herself undressed and unable to move at all. She watched as he slipped off his shirt and kicked off his pants, and she saw that he was already at attention and ready for her. He jumped on top of her and grabbed her chest roughly, but all Penny could do was groan and turn her head. She didn't know what was going on, but it hurt, and she didn't know why it was happening to her.

In the blink of an eye, a loud crack resounded through the room and Penny watched as a strange look overcame the man on top of her. Then her attacker completely dropped his full weight on her, unconscious.

“Penny, are you okay?”

With relief, Kurt's body was rolled off of her for her too see Leonard standing there, a very sturdy Louisville Slugger in his hands and concern in his eyes. He quickly went to her side and pulled the rag from her mouth, making her mouth feel instantly dry. She looked at Leonard with confusion and looked at Kurt's body lying on the floor. A tear leaked from the corner of her eye as she tried to understand what was going on.

“Penny, did he drug you?” Leonard asked, noticing her lack of movement and speech. When she gave him another clueless look, he could tell she wasn't in her right mind. “It's okay, Penny. We'll get you an ambulance and we'll figure out what he did to you. I'll call Officer Hodgkins and have him send one.”

Leonard moved to sit by Penny, pulling her head into his lap while he dialed on his phone. As the phone rang, he grabbed Penny's blanket and pulled it over her to cover her nude form.

“Officer Hodgkins? It's Leonard Hofstadter. I need you at Penny's apartment ASAP with an ambulance as well. Kurt managed to get in Penny's apartment and he drugged her... No, I hit him with a baseball bat... Yeah, a wooden one... I don't know, let me check.”

Leonard pulled the phone away and leaned over to press two fingers to Kurt's neck. When he felt a weak pulse, he sat back on the phone again. “Yeah, he has a pulse. But I did crack the bat so there's probably brain damage... Yeah, I'm pretty sure that he drugged her... I'm fairly certain she's going to need to be taken to the hospital... I don't know, but she doesn't seem to be very lucid... As far as I know, she doesn't have any other injuries... Okay, we'll see you in a minute.”

With that, Leonard hung up the phone and reached over the edge of the bed to get Penny's clothes, hoping to make her decent before people started showing up. When he sat back up, he heard Kurt's angry snarl.

“Get away from her or I swear to God I will shoot!”

Leonard turned his head quickly to see Kurt standing there with blood running down his neck and chest from the back of his head, and still very much without clothes. He was holding a pistol, which was aimed directly at Leonard.

“Okay, calm down Kurt. You don't want to have murder on your record,” Leonard tried to say calmly, standing up slowly from the bed, trying to keep himself between Kurt and Penny. “You used to be an asshole, now you're just crazy. Why do you want to kill Penny?”

“If I can't have her, then no one can!” Kurt yelled wildly, swinging his arms for emphasis. Leonard saw his chance and lunged forward, pushing the gun away and tackling Kurt's much bigger form to the floor. Leonard took a swing at him and felt his fist connect with Kurt's jaw. Kurt groaned and brought his arm down, slamming Leonard in the head with his elbow. Leonard rolled, his head feeling like it had been split open. Just as he grabbed Kurt by the neck, a gunshot rang throughout the room.

xxxxxxxx

When Penny opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the dull light in the room. She realized she was lying in a hospital bed with an IV secured in the crook of her right elbow. Her left arm was in a sling, and her shoulder ached. The little machine her IV was connected to made a soft beep every few seconds, and from what the monitor told her, her vitals seemed like she was okay. There was no one in the room with her. The TV that came with her room was on, though, the TV Guide channel running through the guide with the volume turned way down low. Sitting up a little more, she bit her lip as she tried to remember why she was there. She remembered making it home from work and going straight to the guys' apartment. And Raj making the comment about how he'd already slept with her. And her telling everyone that she didn't really sleep with Raj. Then storming off to her apartment after Howard and Raj made the “banged up” jokes.

Penny gasped as she remembered entering her apartment and being attacked by a hulking form. Then... Nothing. She didn't remember anything after that. It was a big blank. Had she been unconscious? What happened?

Knowing only one way to get answers in a hospital, Penny pressed the nurse button on the side of her bed and waited for someone to show up. She waited nearly ten minutes, growing increasingly frustrated. Just as she gave up and started pulling her IV out, there was a quick knock on her door and a plump, happy looking nurse swept in with a chart.

“Good morning! It's good to see that you're finally awake. I'm going to call the doctor and let him know, and he'll be right with you. Are you feeling sick, nauseated, dizzy?”

Penny shook her head gently. “Um... Is there anything you can tell me about why I'm here?”

The nurse smiled sadly at Penny and shook her head. “I'm sorry, dear. The doctor is the only one who can explain everything. And I think he has a detective who is waiting for you to wake up.”

Penny nodded absently, lying back in her bed. The nurse checked Penny's vitals and made note of them before swiftly leaving the room.

It was nearly thirty minutes before Penny's room door reopened to reveal Doctor Landabad, the same doctor she had after her first attack. Following in behind him was a very tired looking Officer Hodgkins. “Miss. Penelope,” Dr. Landabad addressed her. “How are you feeling?” 

Penny groaned and sat up. “Like someone decided to swing me by the left arm into oncoming traffic.”

“I would imagine so. You have a dislocated shoulder. Now, do you remember why you're here?”

“No,” she said, looking around the room hopelessly. She was slightly surprised that she was injured and didn't remember it at all. “I remember someone grabbing me when I entered my apartment, I remember struggling and breaking my coffee table, I remember being slammed to the floor and then... nothing. I don't remember anything. Did I get knocked out?”

“I'm afraid not,” Officer Hodgkins contributed. “Your attacker drugged you up with syringe of Rohypnol. It's not uncommon for roofie victims to not remember anything. You're lucky that Doctor Hofstadter was there to stop him.”

“Leonard?” Penny blurted out. “Leonard stopped him? Is he okay? Where is he?”

Penny felt as though a bucket of ice water was dumped on her when Officer Hodgkins responded.

“He's here in the hospital. He was shot.”


	19. Chapter 19

“Oh... Oh my God,” Penny said in a panicked voice, standing from the bed. “Where is he? Is he okay? What room is he in?”

“He's on the third floor, room 313. But Penny – ”

Penny didn't listen as she turned around quickly and pulled the IV from her arm. Before Doctor Landabad or Officer Hodgkins could stop her, she was out of the door and down the hall, still in her hospital gown. She rounded a corner and found the elevators and stairs. The sign told her that she was on the fifth floor, so she pushed the down button and impatiently tapped her foot. After waiting a full three seconds, she couldn't stand it and abandoned her wait. Taking the stairs instead, Penny praised the fact that she had to conquer stairs every day.

Sprinting down the two flights to the third floor, she could think of nothing but Leonard. Her shoulder ached and the sling off-put her balance slightly, but that didn't slow her down. 

He had been shot. Leonard had been shot protecting her. He had risked his life to save her.

She burst through the stairwell door and looked both ways quickly, figuring out which way 313 was. She saw a sign and followed it, almost skidding around the corner with bare feet until she saw the room door. Not even bothering to knock, she barreled through the door into the dimly lit room and felt her heart break a little at the sight that met her.

Leonard lay unconscious on the cold, clinical bed, tubes and wires running from all over him. His torso was bare except for the bandages crossing over his shoulder and around upper his chest, which were slightly stained with blood.

“Oh God, Leonard!” Penny huffed out, walking quickly over to his side and crouching next to him. “Leonard, why did you do this?”

She knew he couldn't hear her, but she felt the weight of responsibility bearing down on her and it killed her to know that he was hurt because of her. She gently grabbed his hand and held it tightly in hers, tears streaming down her face.

“Penny...”

Penny didn't notice that Dr. Landabad and Officer Hodgkins had both entered until she heard the doctor. She turned her head to see him, her pain evident on her face.

Doctor Landabad continued. “He's in stable condition. The bullet passed clean through two inches above his left lung, right at the shoulder, so nothing vital was damaged. It'll be another few hours before he wakes up, though he'll have to stay here for a couple of weeks. It's going to take roughly four months for him to heal. After that, he is free to go home in a sling that he'll need to wear for about three months. Otherwise, he's going to be just fine.”

Before Penny could feel her relief, Officer Hodgkins added in, “Kurt Wade was apprehended at the scene. Somehow, Doctor Hofstadter managed to force Kurt to drop his gun. The two wrestled for a moment and rolled on top of the gun. The bullet went straight through Leonard and struck Kurt in the abdomen. Kurt survived the bullet as well, though he's far more worse for wear. He's currently in this hospital, but he's under strict surveillance with an armed guard. Once he's well enough, he will be transferred to lock-up until his court date. He's facing a maximum of life in prison for violating court orders, as well as attempted murder and contract killing.”

Penny could do nothing but nod and turn back to face Leonard, trying to keep her sobs of joy from escaping. Gripping his hand tightly, her tears turned from sad to happy as she weeped in alleviation. It was finally over. She was finally free to go back about her life.

“However, you are still a patient and we need to get you checked out before you plant yourself here.”

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Penny sat in the chair she had pulled next to Leonard's bed, trying to operate the bulky hospital bed TV remote to flip through the channels with one hand. It had been nearly two hours since she had checked out of the hospital, and Leonard still hadn't woken up yet. She really didn't blame him. If she had been shot, she probably would have wanted to do nothing but stay unconscious, too.

Settling on Planets Funniest Animals, Penny replaced her hand over Leonard's and looked absently at the TV. She honestly wasn't interested in the show, but she felt the need to do something to occupy her mind and keep her from losing it. Waiting on Leonard to wake up was driving her insane. Even though she knew he was going to be okay, she continued to hold her doubts until he woke up and she knew for certain.

Her phone beeped, which prompted Penny to grab it from the table next to her. It was a message from Bernadette, asking which hospital they were at. Penny made to pull her hand from Leonard's to respond to the text but received a shock as she felt his hand grip hers.

She turned her head to face him and leaned in close. In a panicked tone, she asked, “Leonard? Oh God, Leonard, are you awake?”

She heard him groan slightly and turned his head towards her, cracking his eyes open a bit.

“Hey you,” he said in a low, scruffy voice.

Penny grasped his hand with both of hers, trying to get closer to him without hurting him. “Oh thank God, you're awake,” she said in a relieved voice, holding herself back from crying. “How are you feeling?”

He gave her a small, tired grin. “Like I've been shot.” With a pained grunt, Leonard attempted to sit up a little bit. Unfortunately, he realized promptly that that kind of movement wasn't an option for him as a bolt of pain shot from his shoulder. He grimaced as he settled back to the way he was, asking, “How long have I been out?”

Penny was having a difficult time keeping her joyful tears in check as she reached over and pressed the button to raise him up slightly. If it hurt him, he didn't let on. “Don't try and move yourself just yet. And I don't know how long you've been unconscious. I woke up on the fifth floor only a few hours ago. When they told me you were here, I freaked out and came as fast as I could. Now hang on a sec. We need to call a nurse and let them know you're awake. Officer Hodgkins wants to ask you everything that happened since I have no clue what went on after I smashed my coffee table.”

Penny pressed the nurse button on Leonard's bed and waited a moment for someone to respond.

“How can I help you?”

“Um, just thought someone would like to know that Leonard Hofstadter is awake.”

There was silence for a moment before the lady over the speaker responded.

“The doctor will be with you in a few minutes.”

Leonard opened his eyes more, trying to ward off the grogginess caused by the sedation. Penny bit her lip, still holding onto his hand with both of hers. “Leonard, why did you do that? Why did you tackle someone with a gun?” Sniffing back a laugh, she chuckled, “For being a genius, you are so stupid.”

Biting back a grimace, Leonard smiled warmly at her as he pulled her hands to his lips and kissed the back of her hand gently. “Humanity is known for doing insane things for the ones they care about the most.”

Looking her in the eyes and holding her hands close to his chest, Leonard couldn't deny it any longer. “Penny... In the last few months, I have fallen... completely in love with you.”

Penny's eyes widened but said nothing as he continued.

“I realized it yesterday when I came in and saw Kurt on top of you. My blood boiled in my veins and it took everything in me to only hit him once with that bat. And when I saw him with that gun, the only thing I could think of was making sure he didn't hurt you with it.”

“I love you, Penny, and I want to be with you. I don't know what I would do if I lost you.”

Penny felt her heart swell at his declaration and a whole new wave of emotions overtook her. Smiling through her elated tears and gripping his hand more tightly, she said, “I love you too, Leonard. And I'm not going anywhere.”

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Shortly after Penny and Leonard's heartfelt moment, Doctor Landabad arrived at Leonard's room with Officer Hodgkins. They sat there for nearly thirty minutes as Leonard recounted to Hodgkins what happened. It was almost noon when Leonard finished, and after Doctor Landabad and Officer Hodgkins left the room, a nurse bustled in to remove some of the tubes and wires. She administered a syringe of morphine into the IV line to help ease Leonard's pain, which had steadily been growing worse since he had awakened. Before the nurse left, she told Leonard that he had friends waiting to see him.

“... and we had no clue anything was going on until we heard the gunshot,” Howard said, leaning against the wall. “We didn't know for sure where the shot came from, but we had a good guess.”

“Just for the record, I was the one who suggested that we check Penny's apartment,” Sheldon decided to add, standing awkwardly next to Raj who was sober and silent. “It's not an unusual occurrence back in Texas to hear gunshots but, hey, what can I say? Only the mindless seek power in material things. Or in my neighbor's case, a Remington 12 Gauge shotgun.”

“So Leonard,” Bernadette said from her seat next to Howard, rolling her eyes at Sheldon. “How long did the doctor say it was going to take you to heal?”

“Ugh,” Leonard groaned, kind of loopy from the morphine and still gripping Penny's hand tightly. She hadn't budged one inch from his side. “Around four months. And I gotta wear a stupid sling for at least three. I can't believe I'm stuck in this hospital for two weeks.”

“Well,” Penny said, “the doctor said he might can get out sooner if he starts healing quickly. The bullet didn't hit bone or anything. It was a very clean shot so his healing time is a lot less than it would have been.”

Amy, who was sitting in a chair next to the window, opened her mouth to say something. She changed her mind and closed it, wearing an expression that was a mixture of envy and swooning.

“What, Amy?” Penny asked, noticing Amy's lack of speech.

Amy apparently couldn't contain herself anymore as she burst out, “You guys, this is so romantic! Leonard took a bullet for you, Penny! That is the ultimate declaration of love! It's like a fairytale, only a lot more violent.”

Sheldon gave Amy an incredulous look. “Well, you've obviously never read all of the fairytales in their original context. Some are actually quite disturbing. For example, the big bad wolf in Little Red Riding Hood actually tricked Little Red Riding Hood into imbibing some of her grandmother's flesh and blood before she found out that she was amidst an imposter. And Sleeping Beauty – ”

“That's enough, Sheldon,” Leonard said, cutting him off.

Raj leaned over and whispered in Howard's ear quickly. Howard responded with irritability, “Then look them up on the internet! But I'm warning you, Sheldon is not lying about them being disturbing. The Little Red Riding Hood story was actually quite mild in comparison to others.”

“Well,” Bernadette sighed, standing from her seat, “now that the image of my favorite fairytale is ruined, I believe my lunch break is almost over. Penny, do you want me to drop you off at your apartment?”

Penny shook her head immediately. “I'm not going anywhere. I've already called George and told him what's going on. We only have two more episodes left in the season so the network agreed to postpone the airing a couple of weeks. Our ratings are outstanding right now so they figured they could let it slide.”

“I'll say,” said Bernadette. “There were dozens of people standing outside of the hospital with cameras, hoping to glimpse you.”

“What?”

“Well, yeah. The security guard at the door said that ever since it got out this morning that TV's hottest new show's lead character was in here, the paparazzi have been trying to sneak in all day. We had to get clearance from Leonard's doctor and that Officer Hodgkins fella to enter the building.”

“Oh, wow.”

“Well, do you want us to pack a bag for you and bring it by tonight?” Amy asked, standing as well.

“If you girls don't mind,” Penny said, smiling politely. “But I'd rather Bernadette packed it. Amy, you have a habit of wanting me to dress like a... Well... Slut.”

Amy made a face at Penny and walked to the door, following the others out, “Well, if I had your flawless skin and curves, I'd show myself off every day.”

“But you don't, so let's go. My lunch hour ends in fifteen minutes,” Sheldon said, not knowing how insulting his words were. Amy could only glower at him, knowing that he didn't know any better.

Everyone said their goodbyes and left Leonard and Penny alone, thus beginning their long healing process.


	20. Chapter 20

Three Months Later

"Penny! Hurry up or we're going to be late!" Bernadette yelled through Penny's bathroom door.

"We've got plenty of time!" came Penny's voice through the door. "Even I'm not dense enough to arrive at the People's Choice Awards late!"

"I'll bet that Leonard and the guys are already waiting!" Bernadette huffed irritably.

"Okay, alright, I'm done!" Penny called out, flinging open the door and stomping from the bathroom.

Amy, who had been sitting on the bed, finally piped in, "Careful. If you stomp too hard in those heels, the adhesive holding the heel to the shoe could come undone. It would be a shame to see you face plant the red carpet your first time ever being there. However, I'm sure you could go shoeless and no one would care because you look absolutely stunning in that dress."

"Yeah, Penny," Bernadette agreed. "You look incredible. I hope you win an award just so everyone will see how great you look. Leonard is going to pass out when he sees you."

"Good," Penny says affirmatively, smiling with her quick nod. "That's the desired effect."

In the three long months since Leonard had been shot, Penny only grew closer to him by staying by his side every moment she wasn't sleeping or working. It took a month and a half for him to go back to work, which gave him and Penny ample time to get closer. She decided that staying the night in their apartment like Leonard had done with her was a little too much for both of them, though. Sheldon was a complete pain about her sleeping on the couch, and she was too worried she might accidentally hurt Leonard in her sleep if they slept in the same bed. Not to mention, the sexual tension could be cut with a knife and she refused to do anything like that while he was still hurt (it didn't stop her from taking birth control, though). They actually had a silent agreement going where they didn't discuss their relationship or the declarations they had made in the hospital. They both wanted to focus on Leonard getting better, first.

Penny had received the news two months after Leonard had left the hospital that she and her show were nominated for the Peoples' Choice Awards, which she promptly made sure that she could get her friends in, too. Her growing celebrity status was developing its uses.

A knock resounded on the front door, to which Penny gave herself one more quick once-over in the mirror. Satisfied, she strode quickly to the door and opened it wide.

Penny was taken back by how amazing Leonard looked. He was wearing a red button-down long-sleeved shirt covered in a black sports coat. The sleeves and jacket were fitted well enough to show his still toned body, compliments of physical therapy.

Leonard found himself stunned when Penny had flung open the door. She was wearing a knee-length sleeveless black dress that flared slightly at the bottom. A vibrant red sash was tied around her midsection, forming an elegant bow in the back. Her hair was down and flowing in a few large ringlets, and her feet were adorned in low red strappy heels.

"Uh... Ahem, um, wow. You look... Just, wow," Leonard managed to stumble out.

Penny smiled brightly at this. "Thanks. You look... Incredible, too." With a nervous smile and a wink, she turned and called into her apartment, "Come on, girls! The limo is waiting!"

Penny, Leonard, Amy, Sheldon, Bernadette and Howard all had managed to get themselves settled in the back of the limousine with little conflict, though the battle had just begun between the driver and Sheldon.

"Sir, I need to see your credentials and accident history before we go anywhere with you. And I need to see that your cell phone is turned off. Tonight is very important for me. I refuse to be led to an early demise because you had to update your Facebook status, careening us off a bridge."

"Important for you?" Howard asked, eyebrows slightly raised.

"I will meet George Lucas tonight. Penny promised, didn't you, Penny?" Sheldon looked expectantly at Penny, daring her to disagree with him.

"I promised I would try, Sheldon," Penny sighed. Sheldon turned his back and continued to pester the driver.

"He's a busy man," Penny continued, knowing that Sheldon would hear her. "And his T.V. show has been nominated for almost everything. I will do whatever I can, though." She repressed the urge to roll her eyes.

Sheldon had apparently come to an agreement with the driver, because the limo began to move.

"Wait!" Bernadette said suddenly. "Where's Raj?"

"Oh," Penny smirked, "He's actually escorting Aastha, tonight."

"She asked him to go with her?" Amy asked incredulously.

"Yeah, somehow, she really likes Raj. Like, really likes him."

"Well, good for him," Bernadette said, nodding her head approvingly. "And her being Indian must really make their family lives easier."

Howard laughed out loud at that. "It's hilarious, actually. His parents have tried bribing him into marrying the girl, pronto. So far they've tried a Lamborghini, a GT-R, a Rolls Royce or his choice of any Penthouse apartment in the area."

"Oooh, wow," Amy said. "Did he take any of it?"

"No," Howard snorted. "He actually wants this relationship to survive."

They all laughed at this.

Turning to Leonard, Penny straightened his collar a little bit, "Are you okay? You've been kind of quiet."

Leonard grinned at her, a genuine smile, "I'm fine. My shoulder is aching a bit, but at least I don't have to wear that sling anymore.'

"I'm glad," Penny smiled. She leaned in closer to Leonard, wanting to feel the warmth from him. Her dress drew her chest together to create ample cleavage, which Leonard couldn't help but notice. She smelled of black cherry, which had his mouth watering. It took everything in him to not reach out and grab her.

Penny could feel his heated gaze and it sent chills throughout her body, suddenly wishing there was no one else in the back of the limo with them. She silently decided to make arrangements for each individual couple to get their own limos home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Penny waved goodbye to all the reporters and photographers shouting at her as she entered the back of the limo with Leonard holding her hand tight. Just as the door shut, Penny let out a laugh, tossing herself back in the seat and kicking her shoes off.

"Five awards! I can't believe we got five awards! That's incredible!"

"I'm so proud of you!" Leonard said excitedly. "You deserved them, though. Your show really is awesome. Sheldon loves it."

"Does he? He just shrugs when I ask him what he thinks about it."

"Mmhm," Leonard nodded. "So, you didn't have too much champagne, did you?"

"Um," Penny giggled, "Like, three glasses. So, no. Why? What's up?"

Before she could fully turn to look at Leonard, he had already grabbed her quickly and pulled her to him. It had been so long since she and Leonard had actually embraced (because of his injury), so she was surprised all over again by the firm muscles underneath his nerd chic facade. Without hesitation, she turned her head to face Leonard fully. Not waiting any longer, Leonard pulled Penny's lips to his, kissing her with a restrained fiery passion. Penny moaned into his mouth, reveling in the taste and feel of him. It had taken everything she had to keep her hands to herself during the months that he was healing – not to mention, they still hadn't discussed their relationship status.

Penny felt Leonard tangle his right hand in her hair to pull her mouth closer to his as his left hand snaked down her spine and pressed on her lower back, bringing her body closer to his. Even through her dress, his touch burned her and created a burning need within her. Not wanting him to get ahead of her, Penny grabbed her own handful of hair as her other hand slipped inside his shirt and explored his firm chest. Leonard's lips left hers and trailed softly down her chin and to the side of her neck. Penny was almost straddling him at this point, trying to get as close as possible to him. Abruptly, Leonard broke away from her, straightening his glasses and shirt.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Penny exclaimed at the rejection. "What does it take with you?"

At this, Leonard laughed and pulled her forward, placing a quick peck on her lips. "I don't think the driver will appreciate us getting it on back here. Especially since we're already home."

Sure enough, they were pulling up in front of the apartment building. Penny didn't realize how long she and Leonard had been locked together in their embrace.

The driver suddenly opened the door, motioning for Leonard and Penny to get out. Leonard got out first and assisted Penny in getting out, her shoes being M.I.A. Leonard quickly tipped the driver and pulled Penny along to the front of the building. It seemed to take centuries, but the two finally made it to Penny's door. She hadn't even gotten her keys out before Leonard's hands were back on her, hungrily feeling every inch of her as his lips attacked her neck. Penny managed to get the door unlocked finally during his assault, immediately leading the both of them back to her bedroom. As soon as they walked through her bedroom's threshold, Leonard's arms wrapped tightly around her as she felt the two of them fall on her bed, Leonard on top of her. He moved his mouth from her neck to her mouth as he tried to devour her. His knee came up between her legs, spreading her knees slightly and enjoying the warmth building there.

Penny was in ecstasy. His mouth moving on hers was so skilled, so calculated, and his hands, which were currently massaging her breasts, felt so strong and adept. Needing air, Penny finally pulled from him momentarily.

"God, Penny," Leonard groaned, looking down at her with adoration in his eyes. In a husky voice, he spoke, "You're wonderful. Absolutely perfect. I meant what I said, in the hospital. I want you to be mine. I love you." Suddenly pulling her hips hard against his, she gasped as she felt his excitement, hot and hard against her. "I need you."

Penny could barely contain a moan as she looked at him, her eyes smoldering, "I love you too, Leonard. I've wanted you so badly..." She ground her hips against his, eliciting a groan from him.

She felt Leonard's hands resume their exploration of her body, across her peaks, down her belly, around the smooth contour of her backside. Penny began making quick work of the buttons on Leonard's shirt. "You were always the one," she tried explaining between sucking on his neck and nipping at his ear. "You stayed by me when I was hurt and scared... You never once gave up on me... Even after I freaked out and rejected you the first time we... tried... You took a bullet for me."

"Oh, God," Leonard shuddered out as Penny finished undoing his buttons and her hands shot inside, feeling up his smooth, bare skin. Leonard moved his hands behind her and untied the bow in the back of her dress. He then grabbed the zipper and pulled it down almost agonizingly slow. Penny moved around and helped him remove the dress, leaving her completely nude.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Going commando?"

Penny smirked at him. "Well, I had hoped that things would go this well." Quickly reaching up, Penny grasped the buckle of Leonard's belt and began undoing it while Leonard's mouth lowered to one of her hardened peaks. She moaned out at the luxurious feel of his mouth as she tried to undo his pants as fast as she could. Once she had completed her mission, he helped her pull his pants away and flung his shirt and coat to the side, leaving them both completely naked and pressed against each other. Leonard moved his mouth from one breast to the other, one hand massaging her backside as the other slowly dipped between her legs. Every touch sent flames shooting through her, her need becoming unbearable. When his hand finally reached her center, she almost toppled over the edge. Forcing him to bring his mouth back to hers, Penny reached down and grasped his hardness, marveling at the endowment she hadn't been expecting. She began stroking him slowly, causing his ministrations on her to falter as he had to use both hands to hold himself up. Pulling his lips away from hers, he hissed, "Fuck..."

Penny couldn't handle it anymore. She had waited too long. Letting go of him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, spreading her legs wider and pressing against him. "Please, show me how much you love me."

Leonard didn't need anymore encouragement than that and quickly positioned himself at her entrance, his mouth once again finding hers. One arm wrapping around her waist and the other holding himself up, Leonard slowly made his way inside her, moaning loudly into her mouth at the exquisite feeling. Penny trembled and moaned as she felt him move inside her, savoring the feeling. Sure, she had had sex before (more than she cared to admit), but making love was a totally new experience for her. She could feel all the love and care Leonard had for her pouring off of him in waves, making her ecstasy go even higher. Once he was completely inside her, she knew that he was her One. No one had ever made her feel so good, so beautiful, so loved... Until Leonard.

He began moving, and Penny found herself moving with him eagerly, their mouths still locked together, her hands in his hair. Every now and again, Leonard would shift her slightly, and she could suddenly feel even more pleasure, though she had no clue how. Every time he adjusted her, it was a totally new feeling. The amazing stimulus had her moaning loudly into Leonard's mouth, declarations of love and encouragement slipping from both their lips as they moved in perfect synchronization. After almost an hour, she began to feel it build, that intense state that she was reaching for, that he was reaching for. It wound tighter and tighter in her belly, threatening to consume her. Leonard must have known the signs because he shifted her one last time and she crumbled, an earth-shattering pleasure rushing through her, blinding her to everything but the man holding her. She trembled and shook, crying out as Leonard kept stroking in and out of her, grunting as he let go of the last of his restraints. With an intense shudder, he locked their hips together and spilled himself inside of her, his mouth covering hers as he pulsed strongly.

When their orgasms finally subsided, he collapsed next to her and pulled her closely, spooning her nude body to his. "I love you, Penny."

With a content sigh, Penny whispered, "I love you, too, Leonard."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Mr. Lucas! Mr. Lucas!"

Sheldon's frantic yelling could be heard throughout the whole backstage as he ran after the silhouette of George Lucas disappearing around a corner.

"Mr. Lucas! Please come back! I must speak with you!" he begged, rounding the corner a little too quickly. Sheldon hadn't been expecting the man to still be standing right around the corner, so he almost collided with him. "Oh, dear Lord, I almost ran over George Lucas! I'm... I'm..."

Before Sheldon could apologize, he tapered off, gawking in aw of his hero before him. "It's... You're... Oh, God, you're George Lucas!"

Before George could even extend his hand for a handshake, Sheldon's eyes drooped as he collapsed to the ground, out cold.

"Ha," George chuckled. "Another fainter."

The End.


End file.
